Author: alexf31

Climbing to Remember: How the Blacksburg Community Honors 9/11

By Alex Frank, health and wellness reporter

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 343 firefighters died while responding to the attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. Twenty-five years later, people are still remembering and honoring the lives of those first responders but also the thousands of others who lost their lives in the attacks.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2026, members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, the Blacksburg Fire Department, and several sports teams met at Lane Stadium at 5 a.m.to take on the 110-story remembrance climb to signify the 110 flights of stairs it took to reach the top of the Twin Towers.

Members of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets participating in the stair climb the Morning of Sept. 11, 2026. Photo courtesy of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. 

In addition to the morning climb by first responders and the Corps, many other community members took their own remembrance climb. Throughout the day, members of the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg communities climbed the steps in the stadium. 

While the stair climb is a great physical challenge, it isn’t the workout that is the main purpose; rather, they are meant to serve as a reminder of the sacrifice of the men and women who responded to the attacks on that day in 2001, as well as the thousands of other victims. 

The significance of remembrance on the day of 9/11 is not lost on many, even those who weren’t alive on the day of the attacks. 

Ryan Storm is the head Air Force physical fitness officer for the Virginia Tech Air Force ROTC. Storm is one of the cadets tasked with planning and coordinating the stair climb event. When reflecting on what 9/11 means to him, Storm explains, “I know the sacrifice that those men and women make each and every day, and on September 11th, when their nation called on them, they ran towards the fight with no hesitation.“ Despite not being alive for 9/11, Storm is inspired by the bravery of the men and women who responded to the call that morning. Storm says the morning stair climb is “an incredible way to bring everyone together with one common goal of paying our respects and helping those participating gain a small perspective into the true pain and sacrifice.” 

One hundred ten flights of stairs are no easy task, though. It amounts to more than 2,000 stairs, and it’s easy to want to quit. Cid Wyler is a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, and he explains that, despite the difficulty, he had a strong reason not to quit. “I kept going because of the challenge itself and the desire to honor those who served on 9/11. Pushing through discomfort felt like a small way to recognize their strength and sacrifice.”

Storm hopes those who participated in the morning stair climb understand that the event is not just about climbing stairs, but about taking time to recognize the magnitude of the events of Sept. 11th. Storm wanted a way for everyone there to be able to grasp the scale so he came up with a plan, “When participants entered Lane, they were given a slip of paper with a name on it. A large number of the participants were even given a second name. Nearly twice as many people who participated in the stair climb (this morning) lost their lives that day.”

Others also completed the stair climb, in addition to the Corps of Cadets and fire department. Throughout the day, people could be seen making the trek to the top of Lane Stadium, down, and right back up again. 

A woman climbs the stairs on her own early in the morning of Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Photo by Alex Frank.

One participant, Ryley Crabtree, when asked about why he decided to participate, said this: “It was tough to get out of bed this morning, and I’m not a big runner, but it felt like something I had to do, and it felt like the right thing to do.” 

The number of people who participated in the climb throughout the day shows just how much significance remembering the Sept. 11th attacks has a quarter-century later. Many of the young people who participated were not alive, but the impact of the stories they have heard and the connection that is felt through the shared hardship of stairs is something that continues to resonate. Crabtree said, “On days like today it really feels like no matter who you are or what you believe we can all come together for a greater cause.”

Crabtree and his friends climbing the stairs Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. Photo by Alex Frank. 

As participants continued making their way up and down the stairs of Lane Stadium and elsewhere throughout Blacksburg, the climb became more than a simple test of endurance and strength. To those who took the time to do it each step became a chance to remember those who werre lost in the attacks 25 years ago while also serving as a reminder of the commitment and bravery of the first responders who answered the call the morning of September 11, 2001.

The effects of sleep on young adults’ well-being and mental health 

By Alex Frank, Health and Wellness Reporter

Have you ever stayed up late one night studying? Or maybe you stayed up late going out with friends, watching a movie, or just scrolling in bed? For many young adults, these are common occurrences. Sleep is often the first thing sacrificed when work, school and social life get busy. Lack of sleep can affect more than how tired a person feels the next day. Consistently poor sleep can affect young adults’ mental health, mood, memory and overall energy levels. 

Adjusting to the newfound freedom and lack of structure that comes with life after high school can be difficult. With so much to juggle while learning how to live on your own for the first time, sleep often falls low on the priority list. One night of poor sleep can affect you the next day, but what becomes a nightly habit for many young adults can have serious effects on long-term health and well-being. Lauren Woodard is a licensed therapist for teens and young adults with a master’s in social work and a bachelor’s in psychology. In an interview, Woodard explains how hard it is to get quality sleep, the effects poor sleep has on young adults’ well-being and ways to build healthier habits. 

Lauren Woodard, MSW, LCSW 

Her comments were edited for length and clarity. 

Why do you think sleep tends to be such a problem for young adults?

Young adults are in a unique developmental period where they are often navigating a new phase of freedom, responsibilities and demands without the structure they had at home and in high school. For many college students, living at school might be the first time they haven’t had parental supervision and structure around sleep. College is also such a unique time where you are trying to balance so many competing interests: almost 24/7 access to friends and social opportunities, classes, internships, work, clubs, sports, volunteering, dating, all while managing sleep. Sleep is typically the easiest thing to cut! I can’t think of another period of adult life. 

What are the most common unhealthy sleep habits? 

In my work with college students, I most commonly see a pattern of uneven sleep where students might get very little sleep during the week and then sleep in a lot on weekends to make up for it. That in and of itself can severely disrupt your natural sleep-wake circadian rhythms and can also cause what I call “Sunday Scaries Insomnia,” where it is hard to fall asleep on Sunday evenings and you start the week sleep deprived. Another is alcohol intake. Although alcohol makes people feel sleepy at first, research tells us it is a sleep disruptor, causing early wakefulness. Excessive screen time and phone use in bed is another one.  The blue light from your phone and the mental stimulation of what you are watching are big sleep disruptors.

How does stress affect someone’s ability to sleep? 

Stress is a large component driving sleep disruption. Stress puts your body into a naturally more alert and activated state. So if you are stressed, it would take you much longer to be able to feel like you can wind down enough to fall asleep. So think about adding an energy drink in the afternoon, the stress of an exam and scrolling on TikTok a perfect storm for impacting someone’s ability to sleep and a reason why stress management through exercise and meditation is so important. 

How can poor sleep affect mood, motivation and ability to handle everyday stress? 

I say this weekly to my client: Sleep is a foundational component of your mental wellness. When we’re sleep-deprived, our ability to concentrate, tolerate distress, regulate our emotions, make decisions and manage everyday stress is impacted. A decision that might feel relatively easy when you’re well-rested can suddenly feel overwhelming or even impossible when you’re exhausted. You may find yourself feeling far more anxious, emotional, or frustrated by something you would normally be able to navigate; not necessarily because the situation has changed, but because you’re trying to handle it with a sleep-deprived brain. It is like functioning all day with a phone at 10% charged. 

How do phones affect young adults’ sleep habits? 

I could probably do an entire interview on just this. Blue light from your phone keeps you awake and alert and blocks melatonin production, which is a sleep hormone you need to sleep well. I also hear a lot of clients say notifications stress them out, and they feel like they have to respond right away, even if they are trying to rest. One other thing I see is a downside of social media where many of my clients get caught in a comparison trap with viewing social media – it may make them feel like they are less in some way by seeing other people have things they don’t. That can result in feelings of anxiety and depression, which impact sleep.

What are the first changes you would recommend to someone who consistently gets poor sleep? 

Doing a complete reset of your sleep habits might be too stressful, so I say pick one area. Some ideas are, like, set an alarm on your phone to remind you to go phone or social media free for 30 minutes before bed. Stop consuming caffeine after lunchtime. Try to wake up at the same time every morning and go to bed at the same time every night; stay within 2 hours on each end of that on the weekends. If you stay out late, still wake up within 2 hours of your normal wake-up time. Another thing is to try to keep naps short and earlier in the day if you take them. Lastly, stay out of bed unless you are sleeping.

If you could change one sleep habit among college students, what would it be? Stop spending so much time in your bed. For many college students, especially those in dorms, their bed becomes a multi-purpose space: desk, couch, dining room and place to scroll. If possible, I encourage clients to create some distinction between where they are awake and where they sleep. We want the brain to develop a strong association between getting into bed and winding down.