than she thought
Alumna Jennifer Bucco '97, a teacher at Northern Valley High School in
Demarest, spoke with her 9th-grade world history honors class on Tuesday
about the definition of a hero. "We're doing a project in which each
student picks a hero," Bucco explained. As Tuesday's events unfolded,
the class listened to reports about how a few passengers on United Airlines
ill-fated flight 93 from Newark may have fought the hijackers.
"One student raised his hand and said, ‘I don't care what anyone
says, they are my heroes. They stand for what America is,' " Bucco
recalled.
Bucco didn't know at the time, but one of those heroes, Jeremy Glick,
was her boyfriend's brother.
The story of how Glick and two other passengers were determined to stop
the hijackers from completing their mission is a tale of heroism that
newspapers and television stations have been retelling over the past few
days. Glick's family appeared on "Dateline NBC" last night.
The second part of that interview will air tonight at 10 p.m.
"When we talk about what a hero is," Bucco said, "we talk
about a selfless human being who has courage and bravery, and stands tall
in the face of tragedy. That was Jeremy. He knew he was going to die,
but he thought more of his country than his own life. He was a hero."
Bucco said she told her class on Wednesday about Jeremy and what he did.
"I explained to them how he called his wife, Lyzbeth, from his cell
phone to tell her what was happening and how they had planned to take
over the hijackers. He also told his wife that he loved her and their
daughter [12-week-old Emerson] very much."
"The students are sad, but they see hope in what Jeremy did,"
Bucco said. "They are an amazing group of 14-year-olds." Bucco
has started to return to the regular coursework in her classroom. "If
we stop our lives, the terrorists win," she said. "I need to
bring normalcy back to the classroom."
Meanwhile, she said, Glick's wife and both their families are trying to
cope as best they can. "The family is dealing with so much at the
same time," she said. "The loss of a son, brother and husband,
plus a national tragedy. They are so proud of Jeremy, yet so sad he's
gone."
Bucco described Glick, who had celebrated his 31st birthday last week,
as "larger than life. He was tall, muscular, but sweet and nice.
There's no other way to describe him than as a warm person."
From the office of Northern Valley High School Principal Bert Ammerman,
whose brother died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie,
Bucco spoke with another Montclair State alumna, Congresswoman Marge Roukema
'51. "She told me Jeremy is an American hero and that she will
do everything to make sure his life meant something, and that he didn't
die in vain."