An Arlington firefighter goes down the stairs during Steps of Valor on Sept. 11 at Maverick Stadium. Three Arlington firefighters completed the climb.
In the early morning hours on Friday, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the trees, people gathered in support of 9/11 first responders and their families at Steps of Valor, a nonprofit event hosted at Maverick Stadium.
By 7:30 a.m., a crowd was beginning to form. Despite the anticipated heat, people stood ready to take on those stairs come 8:03 a.m.
Steps of Valor started as an event that the fraternity Kappa Sigma started in 2024, Kappa Sigma President Thaddeus Shearin said. He said that in its second year, the fraternity was able to raise money for charity, and over the summer, they turned the event into a nonprofit organization.
“Anything that we get from businesses, anything that we get through proceeds raised from shirt sales or breakfast tacos can go towards benefitting first responders’ mental health and their families,” Shearin said.
Business management senior Carson Clayton walks up the stairs during Steps of Valor on Sept. 11 at Maverick Stadium. Clayton said doing the stair climb means remembering those who gave everything on 9/11.
He said this year they were able to include the UTA marching band and the color guard, make shirts and have sponsors like Dr. Pepper, which sponsored the water bottles provided at the event, and Eataly Dallas, which provided food.
“Twenty-five years ago today, 2,977 people were killed in the attacks on Sept. 11,” Shearin said in a speech at the event. “Among those were 411 emergency workers who never came home: 343 members of the New York Fire Department, 23 NYPD officers, 37 port authority police officers and eight additional EMTs and paramedics.”
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross delivered a speech before the climb. There was a moment of silence for the fallen first-responders at exactly 7:46 a.m., mirroring the time when the first plane hit the twin towers on 9/11.
At 8:03 a.m. the university ROTC shot off a cannon, commencing the climb. Split into four groups, a mixture of students, first responders and residents began the climb.
UTA ROTC cadets duck as a cannon goes off ahead of Steps of Valor on Sept. 11 at Maverick Stadium. The cannon signaled the start of the memorial stair climb.
Fort Worth resident Emma Schindler, 26, and Arlington resident Lillian Ruesink, 20, attended the event for the first time together.
Schindler said she felt the stair climb would be tricky but that it’s a great way to commemorate the people lost in the tragedy.
Ruesink said that being there on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 felt heavy.
“I was not alive when 9/11 happened, but I do remember when I was younger, people were still feeling the effects for years after,” she said.
Attendees began the climb, going up four rows of stairs. Up and down they went, some racing up the steps, some taking the steep stairs at a slow pace.
Arlington firefighter engineer Jody Keeler climbs the stairs during Steps of Valor on Sept. 11 at Maverick Stadium. The event donated money to the Arlington Professional Fire Fighters Charitable Fund and the Military Heroes Campaign.
Arlington firefighter engineer Jody Keeler took on the challenge of the steps along with fellow firefighters in full gear.
He said that when 9/11 happened he was in high school, and the tragedy helped him decide on his career as a fireman, shaping his life.
“This is way bigger than us,” Keeler said. “It really has to do with the firemen that day that lost their lives. But I would say even more than that, the families that those people went to work, just like I go to work every day, and now they have their sons, daughters, fathers, whoever that didn’t return.”
As the climb continued, faces grew red, sweat soaked shirts, hands rested on hips. Some took short breaks to drink water, sitting down in the stands.
Isis Tesoro, criminal justice freshman and ROTC member, said she liked being able to commemorate the tragedy.
Finance sophomore Zachary Zapalac, left, high-fives aerospace engineering sophomore James Soliz during Steps of Valor on Sept. 11 at Maverick Stadium. Soliz said he listened to classical music during the climb.
Tesoro said the stairs were hard. Once she got halfway, the steps felt like they became higher, and people slowed down, Tesoro said.
“It’s great because everyone’s going at their own pace, so there’s no expectation,” she said. “The expectation is just to finish.”
At times, stairs were taken in jumps, with two to three steps being overtaken at a time. Some took them at a run, knees going high into the air. Some took them at a crawl.
One thing remained constant: They all kept going.
@atclements03