Merrick student uses Ground Zero girder in 9/11 memorial

Last fall, Julie Schnaars was looking for a project to finish her senior English class credits at the Meadowbrook Alternative Program in Merrick.

Instead of writing a book report or an essay, she built a memorial to victims of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 - with a twisted, rusty 16-foot girder pulled from the wreckage of Ground Zero as the centerpiece.

"I just [wanted] to give back to the community," Schnaars said at the memorial's dedication in front of Brookside School Friday. "Everyone was affected by it."

The idea came to Schnaars and her teacher, John Boyle, when they read in a newspaper article that the Port Authority was donating pieces of Ground Zero wreckage to institutions that submitted an application. With guidance from Boyle, she asked the Port Authority for a girder to make into a memorial.

"These were sacred relics that needed a home," Boyle said.

One catch was the school would have to move the 2,000-pound girder to Merrick from the Kennedy Airport hangar where it was being stored.

Schnaars asked local vendors, including a rigging company, to donate services for the girder's transportation and the memorial's design and construction. All of the businesses readily agreed, she said.

SEE PHOTOS9/11/2001 in photos

The memorial will display the names of the more than two dozen victims who were from the Bellmore and Merrick communities.

Included in those names is New York City firefighter Manuel Mojica, who died at Ground Zero. He was the father of Mepham High School student Stephanie Mojica, who sang "God Bless America" at the dedication. She said of the memorial, "I love it."

Bellmore resident Mary Ann Rand, whose firefighter son Adam died in the attacks, wiped her eyes while gazing at the J-shaped girder rising into the sky.

"It's kind of creepy to think that's what came down," she said. But she appreciated the school's efforts. "That they would do this, what a wonderful feeling," Rand said. "It gives you faith."

Now 17 and a freshman at SUNY Old Westbury, Schnaars said she is still sometimes amazed at what she has accomplished.

Due to problems focusing in school and a spotty attendance record, Schnaars said at one point she was in danger of not graduating from high school. "I didn't think this could happen," she said, and later added, "I learned you can turn an idea into a reality."