Most of us can remember exactly where we were 20 years ago today, as the towers fell and a choking white dust shrouded lower Manhattan, blotting out the sun on what had been a clear blue Tuesday morning. No matter where we were, or the distance that separated us from downtown, we would not be left untouched by the attack. As rescue and recovery efforts continued, the UVM community slowly learned that 13 alumni, people who had once called this campus home, had been lost.

In the weeks and months that followed, people across the nation joined together, still in shock and disbelief at what had transpired, to look for a way forward. UVM alumni sent in gifts to support scholarships for students from the New York and Washington, DC areas. UVM pledged to cover full tuition for the children of alumni who perished. And to ensure that the event that shaped their generation might one day transform the next, the friends and family of three alumni—John Wright, Jr. ’89, Cesar Murillo ’91, and Brandon Buchanan ’99—established permanently-endowed scholarship funds at UVM that would celebrate and honor their loved ones.

John Wright, Jr. ’89 is remembered as a staunch family man. He loved spending time outdoors, especially boating, fishing, and skiing. He earned a degree in English from UVM and was a managing director for the investment banking firm Sandler O’Neill & Partners, working on the 104th floor of the south tower. On the morning of September 11, he phoned his wife, Martha Oliverio Wright ’89, to tell her calmly that he was all right—she did not hear from him again. Wright was 33 years old and father to three young children, Emily, Robert, and John Wright III, who was just three weeks old at the time of the attacks.

After John’s death, Martha was still in touch with good friends from their time at UVM, and she wanted to establish a scholarship at their alma mater in his memory. Since 2005, the John W. Wright, Jr. Memorial Scholarship has benefited 36 students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Micaela O’Reilly ’16 received the Wright Scholarship in 2015, as an undergraduate student studying neuroscience. Today she is a PhD candidate at Drexel University, where her research focuses on therapeutically targeting immune activity after a spinal cord injury. “Receiving the Wright Scholarship allowed me to spend more time studying and pursuing my passion in neuroscience,” she says. “I was overjoyed to receive the support and remain so appreciative of the family’s kindness.”

Cesar Murillo ’91 approached life with a rare exuberance—he was always dancing (sometimes even in his sleep), and Rollerblades were his preferred method of transportation to work. The political science major had worked as an equities trader with Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of the north tower, for only a month on September 11. He and his wife, Alyson Becker ’92, had been married just shy of a year when he called to tell her he loved her that morning, as he attempted to flee down a stairwell.

A native of Colombia, Cesar was passionate about building and supporting a more diverse student population at UVM. He was a founding member of the Alianza Latinx student group, and as his 10-year reunion approached, he had recommitted himself to this cause. His wife Alyson and a group of their friends, all UVM alumni, sought to continue this mission, which had so abruptly come to an end. They worked together and raised funds to create the Cesar Augusto Murillo Memorial Scholarship. To date, the fund has provided over $150,000 in support to students who demonstrate a strong interest in, and understanding of, the issues surrounding underrepresentation based on racial, cultural, or socioeconomic identities.

Baldwin Delgado ’12, a Murillo Scholarship recipient who grew up in the Bronx, was just 11 years old when tragedy befell his hometown. He is now a successful senior manager at the financial consulting firm CFGI in Boston. As a UVM student, Delgado spoke to guests at the Celebrating Scholarship Luncheon marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He said that he had focused strongly on academics in order to earn scholarships to attend college, something his hard-working mother was not able to help him with.

“It would have been heartbreaking to work so hard to get into college but not attend because I couldn’t afford it. Scholarships truly opened the door for me to attend a prestigious school like UVM, a place that has truly changed my life,” he said. “Some people may think of Superman when they think of heroes. As for me, I think of people who go out of their way to help others. I think of people like Cesar Murillo and his family and friends. Because I am living proof that a UVM scholarship can change a life, save a life, and carry on the legacy of a life cut short.”

Brandon Buchanan ’99 has been described as a genuine and good-hearted person, a beacon of light. Having just earned a degree in business administration from UVM, he was living a grand adventure in New York City and working alongside Cesar Murillo as an equities trader with Cantor Fitzgerald. In the days after the attacks, several friends from his time at UVM headed to Manhattan to join in the search, posting photographs and scouring hospitals in hopes of finding him. His family and friends would gather again many times in the months and years that followed, this time to raise funds for a tribute to him at UVM, the Brandon J. Buchanan Memorial Scholarship for students in the Grossman School of Business.

Brandon’s father Ron says that his son’s growth and success were stoked by the educational opportunities and the excellent friendships he made at UVM, and it was important to them to give a similar experience to other young people in Brandon’s name. “It has been so helpful to stay in connection with the school Brandon so loved,” he says. “The enthusiasm and energy displayed by the recipients has been a joy, when they write such thoughtful and grateful letters. The scholarship fund was the only positive thing we can point to that came from our tragedy.”

Lily Merchant ’24, a sophomore majoring in business administration, received the Buchanan Scholarship this year. She hopes to one day start a company leading digital marketing projects in the business world. As a student, she is working two part-time jobs to pay for college, and she says she has been grateful for the scholarship support she has received. “This specific scholarship means even more, because there’s a human side to it—not just about academics—it’s about values, family, leadership, and more,” she says. “It’s an honor to be chosen to represent Brandon and all that he stands for.”

Born in August 2002, Merchant is the first among recipients of all three funds to be born after the attacks. She represents a generation of students with a distinctly hopeful tie to the tragedy. They have no first-hand memory of what happened on that day, only dreams for what happens next.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, on what is forecast to be another clear, sunny day in Manhattan, bells will toll across the world in remembrance. Flags will fly at half-staff, and memorial ceremonies will take place throughout the nation. And for John Wright, Cesar Murillo, and Brandon Buchanan, there will also be the solemn gratitude of 87 young people—UVM alumni and current students with grand plans for their own futures—who will never forget their names.