Students create memorial

When this year's Little 500 bike riders take to the track on race day, they'll compete for glory and recognition in the 52nd annual race. This year, however, they'll be riding for something more -- the funding of three new annual scholarships in honor of Sept. 11 victims.\nAt a Feb. 5 press conference, IU Student Foundation leaders, along with Chancellor Sharon Stephens Brehm announced the creation of the scholarships, which will honor three IU students' fathers who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. \nIUSF director Jonathan Purvis said he was approached earlier in the year by IU Foundation president Curt Simic about endowing the scholarships with proceeds from the race.\n"It was determined that probably the most meaningful thing to do would be to work with the students and create scholarships that we can award every year that would forever be a memorial to that day and to their loss and everyone's loss," Purvis said.\nWilliam Moskal was attending a meeting Sept. 11 at the headquarters of his employer, Marsh & McLennan USA Inc., on the 100th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He had been with the firm for 12 years and was vice president in risk consulting for the Cleveland, Ohio, office before his life was abruptly halted by the terrorist assault in south Manhattan. \nSix months later, his daughter Jessica, a sophomore, has been charged with the task of creating a scholarship to honor the avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, the eager sportsman who coached Little League. \n"He was everything to me, and I miss him a lot," Moskal said. "I hope people really take advantage of the scholarship -- it's a great thing that the school has done -- my dad loved this school so much." \nJessica's tentative criteria for the scholarship serves as a reflection of her father's interest in academics.\n"I wanted someone who had at least a 3.2 GPA but that was also involved in either sports, the arts or community service -- because those were all things my dad admired and was involved in," Moskal said.\nShe also thinks an essay describing how the applicant either benefitted from his or her life experiences or how their efforts have benefitted others would be good criteria for the scholarship.\nWilliam David Moskal, husband of Lorraine, father of Andy and Jessica, was a native of Johnstown, Pa. He graduated with a safety engineering degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1979, the year he and Lorraine married. \n"I guess my mom just thought he was a really funny guy, a really fun person -- he really was funny, my dad was hilarious, he made me laugh so much -- he was just a really likable, down to earth, person, and I guess she just thought he would make a good husband," Jessie said.\nHe earned a law degree from the University of Akron in 1988.\nMoskal was active in youth sports. He coached Little League for many years and brought several teams to championship victories. He led his Pee Wee Football team to a division championship, and he was a recreational league basketball coach for middle school boys.\nHe was an avid fisherman and tennis player. Gardening and music were among his other hobbies. Along with his wife and children, Moskal was also devoted to their two boxer dogs, Mike and Zelda.\nWilliam Moskal was a very active man. What Jessica admired most in him was that "he lived every day to the fullest. He was just a very energetic person, and he was a very loving father. He loved life."\nHe loved the IU campus, the sheer size and beauty of it and the opportunities it affords students. "He was enthusiastic about me doing journalism, and my minor is theatre. He thought that the programs for that were so great," Jessie said. "He really liked the feel of it. I feel so safe and comfortable here, and I feel like I am getting so much out of it, and I know he felt the same way I do." \nThe events of Sept. 11 have forced Jessica to reconsider her personal relationships, she said. She's learned to appreciate people and accept their differences -- because "that's how life is."\n"In the end, I think when you focus less on yourself, you are a happier person," she said. "Be productive and appreciate life. Because you never know, you never know when you are not going to see someone again or when your last day is. Live life to the fullest and no regrets"