Susan’s reason for giving her first interview is the same: Harvard.

“Harvard was a huge turning point for him,” Sharon says of her uncle. “He became so involved and found his people and his niche.”

While at Harvard, Ted was in the marching band and co-wrote the Hasty Pudding Theatricals show in ’89, titled “Whiskey Business.” His mother and sister chuckle as they recall the subject of the play: Italian gangsters.

“We were in the front row,” says Susan as her laughter trails off.

Speaking about her daughter, Sharon, Susan admits, “She wouldn’t be there right now if it wasn’t for Ted.”

But the families’ decisions to open up to the press do not necessarily signal a desire to bring their loss into the public spotlight.

Elizabeth and Sharon met each other last year in US and the World 32: “The World’s Religions in Multicultural America: Case Studies in Religious Pluralism.” During a class discussion, Elizabeth brought up her connection to the attacks, which prompted Sharon to stop her after class and share her experience.

Neither woman knows of other students in the Harvard community who lost a family member in the towers—the attacks are not a subject they often bring up in conversation.

Breaking that silence, Elizabeth has decided to speak at the College-wide vigil to be held in Memorial Hall today.

“I’m just really hoping that if people read this or if people hear my story, that they can just think about why people hate and what we can do to have a more peaceful society.”