Searching for a sign

At 10 a.m. Sept. 11, 2001, then-sophomore Jessie Moskal woke up to begin another day in Bloomington, unaware she would soon learn two airplanes had been hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center where her father had been working on a business trip.\nEarlier that week, Bill Moskal had been excited to travel to New York, telling his wife and daughter how happy he was to work in the World Trade Center.\nBill last talked to his wife about an hour before the first plane hit, the last time any of his family would speak to him.\nMoskal's father worked as a safety consultant for Marsh USA Inc. He was one of the vice presidents out of the Cleveland office.\n"I really held out hope (that he was alive) because he was a really together guy, and he was smart about stuff like that," Moskal said. "He would've known what to do in that situation."\nHer father was on the 100th floor of the North Tower, just a few floors away from where the plane hit.\n"He was really close to where the explosion was," Moskal said.\nAfter realizing that her father might be in trouble, Moskal began to do whatever she could to make contact with her father.\n"I was really hysterical," Moskal said. "It's hard for me to remember anything that was going on because I wasn't really thinking. I lost all control of myself."\nMoskal tried to contact her father through his cell phone, but couldn't reach him.\n"I watched the news all day just looking for my dad," Moskal said. "Eventually, we just realized there was no way out."\nMoskal eventually got in touch with her mother Lorraine.\n"My mom was extremely strong, and she is amazing," Moskal said. "She's still the exact same Mom."\nA sliver of hope came for the Moskal family soon after the terrorist attacks when her father's name showed up on a "safe list" by his company.\nBut with all of the confusion in the aftermath of the attacks, her father's name was inadvertently put on the list, sending the Moskal family on an unnecessary emotional roller coaster.\n"I figured that he just got out, and that he was in a hospital or something," Moskal said. "I didn't sleep or anything. I just kept calling hospitals. I didn't know what to do so I just kept doing it, and eventually, we just started to figure it out."\nThe emotional strain of what happened to Moskal's father forced her to withdraw from IU for a semester.\n"I withdrew for the semester because I thought I was losing my mind and I was like 'I can't do this.'"\nMoskal and her family traveled to the site of the World Trade Center soon after the attacks.\n"I couldn't cry or anything," Moskal said. "I was just paralyzed because I almost didn't want to look at it. I still didn't want to accept that my dad might've been a part of it."\nMoskal said when she visited New York, she still had hope that she would find her father.\nShe and her family visited Red Cross shelters and hospitals while in New York, searching for any clue that her father might still be alive, but eventually the Moskal family gave up hope.\nIn honor of Moskal's father and two other fathers of IU students, the IU Student Foundation set up three Sept. 11 scholarships in remembrance of the three victims.\n"In awarding these scholarships, Indiana University expresses its deep sympathy to the families of the innocent victims who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001," said Chancellor Sharon Brehm in a statement regarding the scholarships. "I know that all the recipients of these scholarships will feel deeply honored to receive them."\nMoskal said her father would have been very honored to know he now has a scholarship in his name at IU.\n"My dad loved this school so much, and he always told me how lucky I was to go here," Moskal said.\nMoskal's former journalism professor, Owen Johnson, said speaking with Moskal about the events of Sept. 11 helped change the way he teaches his classes.\n"I think she's had a strong commitment to be a kind of witness to help people remember, but remember in a positive way," Johnson said. "Her experience and knowing her has given me an added perspective that I've been able to employ in classes I teach."\nWith the first anniversary of Sept. 11, Moskal will be forced to relive what happened one year ago, but still can remember what made her father great.\n"He was a great person, and I feel like I learned so much from him," Moskal said. "He was just a fun-loving guy, and I really miss him"