At North Forsyth High School, the “Tower of Hope” stands in commemoration of those that fell on Sept. 11, 2001.
For the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, 208 ceramics students created a tile each to form the 6-foot tall monument, which currently sits in the school’s library.
Each student created a personal symbol representing hope, teacher Vicki Turcotte said.
The teenagers selected crosses, peace signs, suns, rainbows, hearts and more.
“We wanted to make something for the 10th anniversary, but that was more positive,” Turcotte said.
Her students, which span all high school grades, expressed enthusiasm for the project, she said.
“We discussed how they were really young when it happened, but how it still has affected their lives,” Turcotte said. “It gave us something positive to focus on when there were a lot of hard memories being discussed.”
The collective experience of creating something small and contributing to something big was another great lesson for her students, she said.
The class hopes to continue to share the monument in other locations throughout the community.