Red, white, and blue flags surrounded UCF’s Reflecting Pond Friday morning, alongside white carnations and candles in remembrance of the lives lost 25 years ago on September 11, 2001.
▶ LISTEN TO ORLANDO’S MORNING NEWS EXPRESS PODCAST ON WDBO
For Michael Kepner, with UCF’s Military and Veteran Success Center, the anniversary brings back memories from his own military service. Kepner was stationed in Germany at the time of the attacks and remembers waiting to learn whether people he knew were among those killed at the Pentagon.
“As a member of the military, waiting for the list of names to come out of the Pentagon of who had passed, going through those names, line by line, knowing people who were there, people you started out your career with, who were suddenly taken away from you.”
For many of today’s college students, however, September 11 is history rather than a personal memory.
Daniel Perez, a 19-year-old criminal justice major and peer success coach with UCF’s Military and Veteran Success Center, said he grew up learning about the attacks in history classes. His father also served in the military. Perez said learning more about what happened that day gave him a deeper understanding of the loss and sacrifice.
“It really shook me, what truly happened that day, the lives we lost and the amount of people who sacrificed their lives in order to make this country better.”
UCF Student Government Association President, Shivani Vakharia spoke at the memorial, attended with members of her cabinet, and said student leaders wanted to be there to remember and support UCF’s military community.
“I wasn’t even born yet, and a lot of my peers weren’t, so for us to be included, I do believe it’s such a crucial part of remembering 911.”
This is the 4th time UCF has hosted this event, but the first at the Reflecting Pond.
The event was previously held at the flagpole on Memory Mall, but the move made the ceremony more accessible to students on campus.
UCF Provost John Buckwalter also spoke during the memorial, highlighting the lives lost and the families forever changed. Buckwalter also emphasized the responsibility of educators to preserve those memories.
“It makes our responsibility as educators even more important, as a University we help each new generation understand, remember the people behind the history and carry its lessons forward.”
Click here to download our free news, weather and traffic app. And click here to subscribe to our daily 3 Big Things newsletter.
©2026 Cox Media Group
