FSU Alumni Club Awards First 9/11 Scholarship

NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The FSU Seminole Club of NYC moved into action immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center to honor the victims of the worst attacks in the nation's history. By Sept. 17, 2001, the club was the first to establish a scholarship fund to pay tribute to victims of the attack, and now, almost 10 years later, Manhattan Xavier High School graduate Patrick Steffens is being recognized as the first FSU-NYC September 11 Scholar.  

Patrick's father was an NYPD officer at the time of the attacks and was assigned to the 1st precinct, which covers the area where the World Trade Towers once stood. On Sept. 1, 2001, he was given Tuesdays off, including Sept. 11, a day when many family, friends and colleagues were killed. Patrick's father worked countless hours from September through December to uncover bodies, and stood watch over the temporary morgue that was erected at Ground Zero in the days following the attacks.

"We selected Patrick as the first scholarship recipient because he and his family were directly affected by the attacks, he has carried on his father's commitment to service and to leadership, and we want to help him succeed at FSU," says current FSU 9/11 Scholarship Chair Brittney Brock, senior associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Says Patrick Steffens, "My dad, a 19-year member of the NYPD, puts his life on the line each and every day so that his family can have plenty of opportunities to enjoy life. I look forward to attending Florida State where I can fulfill a dream that my father had for me since I was born, to earn a college degree."

The Seminole Boosters assisted with fundraising events where former FSU football Head Coach Bobby Bowden, Heisman award winner Charlie Ward, former Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews, and basketball Head Coach Leonard Hamilton appeared. With the help of donors around the country including major donor Chris Diamantis, the fund was permanently endowed in 2007 through the FSU Foundation.  

According to Christopher Jaskiewicz, 2001 club president, "When the attacks happened, our grief turned to anger, and anger to resolution to do something to honor the victims and to show resilience. We congratulate Patrick, the 2001 officers who founded the scholarship, the 2007 group who endowed it, and the current officers who awarded it." Chris is chief operating officer of New York real estate developer Gotham Organization. "Special thanks to club President Ricky Kohly, who kept this at the forefront of the club's goals during the past two years and who deserves much credit."

The FSU Seminole Club of NYC, Inc. is a not for profit, charitable organization that is part of a network of Seminole Clubs worldwide and is comprised of FSU Alumni, Boosters and friends in the New York metropolitan area. It is part of a network of Seminole Clubs worldwide that are administered by the FSU Alumni Association.

SOURCE FSU Seminole Club of NYC