Meaghan Gray, a teacher at Westbury High School, organized a series of remembrance events at the school to commemorate Sept. 11. Gray says her message to students is that in times of diversity and division, we can come together as one, just as we did after the terror attacks 22 years ago.

Gray's mission is a personal one. She lost her dad, a 9/11 first responder, to a 9/11 illness. She sold T-shirts and pins to raise money for Answer the Call's "New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund." The fund helps families of officers and firefighters who were killed in the line of duty. Gray raised more than $400.

On Monday, students heard from retired FDNY Battalion Chief James Jacobs, a 9/11 responder who volunteers for the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Jacobs said, "We talk about 'never forget,' right? So, you can't forget if you never knew."

The purpose of the remembrance events was to ensure that students born after the attacks could understand and can learn from what happened.

Student Adelina Santos said, "If history is ignored, it's going to repeat itself. If we ignore the people's kindness of the past, what's the future going to look like?"