'We Were Able To Unite': Minnesota High School Students Reflect On 9/11

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Students and teachers are reflecting on 9/11 Wednesday in Minnesota classrooms.

Erin Hassanzadeh sat in on a tenth grade world history class at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul.

"I was in this building when 9/11 took place. None of you were born," said AP world history teacher Mike Vergin.

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"I think of the tragedy, but I don't really have any personal connection to it," said student Ruby Schwieger.

"For us, it's just kind of a part of the history books," said student Ian Thompson.

Still, these tenth graders understand that our world changed on this day 18 years ago.

"Since we've been born, we've never been in a period of time when the us has not been in a war," said student Rohit Iyer.

The attack changed the way we travel, and the way some of us view one another.

"Social tension within neighborhoods were also affected," said student Noah Hockert.

"People react with fear when something bad happens," said Schwieger.

It changed the way we viewed the world.

"I would imagine that people were really scared afterwards," said Schwieger.

"This event solidified some integral parts of America's image," said student Leo Yu.

"After the initial wave of being afraid of each other, we kind of got back together as a country much stronger. We were able to unite against a cause," said Iyer.

9/11 is now part of their history books, but it changed the reality these students live in every day.

"We're still fighting the war, so it's still a current issue for us. We're still facing the consequences of their actions 18 years ago," said Iyer.

"We did have family in New York at the time, and it impacted our family in a great way," said student Maya Merchant.

"I think it's really important not to forget 9/11," said Scheieger.