Scholarship remembers father lost in WTC attacks

Rachel Jacobson's father called her on a whim Sept. 10, 2001. He wanted to tell his daughter, a freshman majoring in human development, that he loved her.\nA day later, the broadcast engineer's life was claimed by terrorists when planes toppled the North Tower of the World Trade Center. \n"My dad called me just to say I love you so much, and -- he's so not like this -- he was like, 'I love you so much. If you ever need me, I will drop everything and come get you,'" Jacobson said. "Before I used to live moment to moment and not think about my relationships with people. Now I have gained a bigger perspective -- that the relationships with other people are so important, and we affect people's lives so much." \nJacobson's father, Steven, is one of three victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to be honored by the IU Student Foundation through the endowment of undergraduate scholarships in their memory. \nDuring a Feb. 5 press conference, she said she felt honored to receive the outflow of support offered by the University.\n"It is such an honor that IU has been so supportive throughout this really rough time in my life and my family's life," Jacobson said. "To have something so positive come out of something so negative is amazing, and I want to thank everyone."\nFor her criteria for the scholarship in her father's name, Jacobson suggested an application with an essay discussing family values and the applicant's emphasis on family and support. Her father did not get to go to college and had to support her aunt and grandmother, so she wanted someone who would not necessarily get the opportunity to go to college to get the scholarship.\nSteven Jacobson left behind his wife, Deborah; two daughters, Rachel and Miriam; a sister, Janice; and his mother, Selma.\nThe most important thing in Steven's life, Rachel said, was his family. He was actually a little reluctant to let Rachel leave New York to come to IU. Yet he was happy for her to have the opportunity to excel in a good school. \nThough he never went to college, he had a prestigious job at WPIX, a radio station based in the city. He was a broadcast engineer and worked on the 110th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center.\nRachel highlighted one thing she admired most about her father. "When he chose to get involved with something, he didn't just do it a little bit, he immersed himself in it." This applied to his work in his synagogue as well.\nThough he never initially meant to become involved in a local synagogue, preferring to "sit in the back, shut up and listen," his attitude changed when he was tapped to open the New York-based Town and Country Synagogue every morning after working WPIX's night shift. This became his routine -- one he had adhered to for the past year.\nHis interest in broadcasting extended past his job. Steven was an avid ham radio operator known for his patience as he spoke to people around the world. \nRachel admitted that her father was also sarcastic and kind of corny, but he was very into humor and telling good stories. \nRachel feels strongly about the anger and resentment in the U.S. because of the events of Sept 11. \n"I have noticed that people are very angry and say 'I want to bomb Afghanistan and I do not care. This is wrong; we need to fight back.' But we don't even know how many innocent people we are killing," she said. "Killing those innocent people is not going to bring back our people. I understand that people are angry, and I am angry too, but the things we are doing make me even more angry that other people are dying…The only way to fight terrorism is with education"