DSF: Tell us about yourself.
JC: I was born in Livingston, NJ but lived in Durham, NC from when I was 7 until I was in high school. My family then moved to Cary, NC while I was in high school.
DSF: What made you attend NC State?
JC: There were three schools that I could have gone to in-state that my Dad would have been ok with. NC State was the best that I could get into. It had strong academics, was a fun large public school with a strong brand. I studied Marketing and French while at NC State, and am now pursuing my MBA.
DSF: Once at NC State, what made you join the Rho Chapter?
JC: Once I got to NC State, I was always impressed with the men of the Rho Chapter. I didn’t join until the second semester my freshman year, and I had friends there already, so I felt the most comfortable with them as opposed to the other groups on campus. I also felt that the men of the Rho Chapter had a higher level of self-actualization than any of the other groups on campus.
DSF: Talk about your experience in serving the Rho Chapter as the Pledge Educator and the leadership experience you received from that.
JC: It was a great experience! It was my first taste of management and leading a group, and I really liked that. I felt like a teacher and a manager, and I think management is something I’d really like to do in my professional life.
DSF: What would you consider to be your most exciting and fun experience as an undergraduate?
JC: I really loved formals. It was the perfect time for all of the guys to get together without any distractions of school or work. I loved having the chance to just go out with everyone and have a good time.
DSF: Tell us about why you decided to go back to school.
JC: Well, I felt like I got to a point where I needed more tools to get to the level of career that I wanted. I had a desire to grow, and to experience more. I also think that learning is cool, and I wish I would have paid a bit more attention while in undergraduate to the chances I had to learn.
DSF: Now onto a different subject – 9/11/01. Tell us about that morning, and what you remember prior to the plane striking the building.
JC: Well, first of all, I was in Tower 1, on the 81st Floor working for a company called Network Plus. It was a random Tuesday morning. Everyone in the office was tired because the Giants had a Monday Night Football game the night before. We were getting ready for a Tuesday morning meeting. My concern that morning was actually about my compensation plan, as I was due a good commission check.
Around that time, I had been planning with some buddies to sign a lease on an apartment in A great Midtown neighborhood. At that time, I was really worried about two things in life… 1. How I would get paid, and 2. How I would party. As things unfolded on 9/11, as you can probably imagine, my priorities shifted dramatically.
DSF: Once the plane struck the building, explain what happened.
JC: The first plane hit the tower in which I was located at I believe 8:46 am. Everyone immediately panicked. There were a lot of thoughts being thrown around like was it a bomb, or did an elevator drop? At that time, me and three others were in the bathroom getting ready for the meeting, and as the plane hit, the light fixtures fell from the ceiling, the floor bowed, and the walls were collapsing. The floor marshal said that we would be safe in a room designated for emergencies, so we beganheading downstairs. As we got to the 67th floor, I came upon my boss who said the office was closed. After hearing people on the floor above, we went up to the 68th floor, and let them know the stairway was open.
DSF: Talk about when you came upon the woman in the wheelchair.
JC: While we were on the 68th floor, we were trying to find as many people as possible. There was an office at the end of the hall with a large group of people in it, so we knocked and they let us in. We were yelling that they had to all get out as quickly as possible because there was a fire, but they all seemed preoccupied.
We realized that the reason they were preoccupied was because they were standing around a woman in a wheelchair and they didn’t want to leave her. My boss and I attempted to pick up the wheelchair, but it was one of the motorized ones, so we decided to pick her up instead and carry her. Someone then came with a non-motorized emergency wheelchair with the sled blades instead of wheels to be easily moved down stairs.
DSF: So once you got to the street, tell us about what happened.
JC: When we got down, it was weird. There were firefighters getting us outside, but when we got outside there were no people there. There was just one ambulance. The ground was covered in deep light colored ash. We were near the west side highway, and there were no cars, no people, and only one ambulance. We put the woman, who we found out later was named Tina, into the ambulance, and stayed around for a few minutes trying to figure out what the ash was from. We thought it was from the fire from out building, but realized later that it was from the collapse of tower two. Minutes later our building began to peel away from the top and building started collapsing. We started running as fast as we could to get away. We ran as fast as we could but the cloud of debris caught up with us. I found myself not being able to see or breathe what seemed like forever, but was less than a minute or so. When the debris cleared we walked uptown where there was a barricade with ambulances and police vans. When we finally got to the barricades that were set up, medics were there to give us saline solution for our eyes, and food for us to eat to induce vomiting. It was a scary situation.
DSF: How soon after the attack were you able to talk with your family and friends?
JC: I was able to talk to them an hour afterwards. I went to a service station to use the phone, and was able to call my Dad’s office, and get put on a conference call with my parents. As you could imagine, it was difficult to get a line out of the city at that time, but luckily, I was able to talk to them within an hour.
DSF: Let’s talk about the aftermath, the next month after the attack. What was that like for you?
JC: It was really a time of perspective for me. I went from the mindset of partying and going out, to wanting to be at home with family and friends. I came home to North Carolina, and spent time with my friends and family, which was great.
In addition, my life was pretty crazy. I had media interviews in Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, Omaha, and other places. I also did the coin toss at the NC State football game, was honored at the opening night of the Carolina Hurricanes season, and was honored with the highest civilian honor in North Carolina, called the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which was presented to me by Governor Easley and Senator Edwards.
DSF: This year marks the five year anniversary of 9/11/01. Do you still re-live that day in your head often, or have you blocked it out?
JC: I do still re-live parts of it, and I have definitely not blocked it out. That day is so entrenched in the decisions I make on a day-to-day basis that I wouldn’t be able to block it out if I wanted to. I am motivated by that day in every decision or choice that I have to make. It made me realize what my priorities are, and what’s important. Should I stay in the office, or spend more time with my family and friends? Those types of decisions are always affected by the experience I had on 9/11/01.
DSF: Talk to us about how your Delta Sig experience helped you get through this ordeal if at all.
JC: Well, the support I had afterwards was amazing, from my family and my chapter brothers. Their personal moral support was amazing to me.I was only a year out of school at the time this happened, so most of my best friends were still living in the chapter house in Raleigh. They really served as an icon of normalcy in what was a very abnormal time for me. I might not have adjusted as well post-9/11 without their support.
DSF: What is a piece of advice that you would give to your brothers?
JC: I would say to take advantage of every opportunity that’s afforded to them, from academics to professional, to social. Be open-minded to new opportunities and fit as much into your life as you can.
On this fifth anniversary of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, we dedicate this alumni spotlight to the memory of our brothers and family members of brothers who passed away that day or in its aftermath. In addition, we would like to recognize and thank our brothers who are serving our country in the Armed Forces and putting themselves in harm’s way so we can all be safe in the years to come. To them, we say thank you and YITBOS!!
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