First Annual Hero Climb to Honor 9/11 First Responders
9/12/2025
Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) honored the courage and sacrifice of the 9/11 first responders today with the first annual Hero Climb, a moving community tribute at the HCN Bank Stadium on the Menifee Valley Campus. Organized by the MSJC Student Health Center under the motto “Together, We Climb,” the event brought students, faculty, staff, community members, and local first responders together to reflect, remember, and climb in unity. MSJC plans to continue the Hero Climb as an annual tradition.
To honor the steps the first responders climbed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, participants climbed the stadium’s 66 steps 25 times—a total of 1,650 steps. The climb served as a powerful reminder of the extraordinary courage and determination shown by firefighters, law enforcement, and emergency personnel on that day and every day since.
“This was more than just a climb—it was a chance for our community to honor the bravery and sacrifice of those heroes who ran toward danger on 9/11,” said Dr. Lisa McAllister, Dean of MSJC Student Health Centers. “By climbing together, we not only remembered their legacy but also showed our solidarity with today’s first responders.”
Representatives from Cal Fire, Menifee Police Department, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy joined the event. A local firefighter who participated reflected, “Being here with the students today meant a lot. Most of them weren’t even born when 9/11 happened, yet their willingness to climb and honor those sacrifices shows that the memory of that day—and the spirit of service and courage it represents—will never be forgotten.”
More than 200 students participated in the tribute. One MSJC student shared, “Climbing these steps was hard, but it gave me a small glimpse of the incredible bravery it must have taken for first responders to keep going that day. It made me appreciate their sacrifice on a much deeper level.”
Participants received commemorative t-shirts inscribed with “9/11, We Climb to Honor and Remember” along with a challenge coin to mark their achievement. The MSJC Veterans Resource Center enhanced the day’s remembrance by displaying 9/11 artifacts and presenting country and state flags representing those nations and states that lost lives in the attacks.
The Hero Climb underscored MSJC’s ongoing commitment to building strong community connections, while providing students with an opportunity to honor history, learn through experience, and express gratitude for the sacrifices of first responders.
