Climbing for courage: OSU community honors first responders during 9/11 Memorial Climb
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu
More than 400 first responders gave the ultimate sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001, and each year, hundreds of participants make their way to Boone Pickens Stadium for the 9/11 Memorial Climb to honor their heroism.
Oklahoma State University’s Fire Protection Society and the School of Fire, Construction and Emergency Management in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology hosted the eighth annual event on Sept. 6.
Participants walked, jogged or ran the equivalent of 110 floors, the same number of floors first responders traversed that fateful day while saving lives. It is an event that brings hundreds of participants to Stillwater each year in an act of remembrance and respect.
The event brought alumni of the Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program, OSU students, CEAT faculty, members of the public, first responders and members of fire departments in the region together to honor the courage that first responders showed on 9/11 and continue to show in their communities around the country.
Jason Todhunter, a senior FPSET major, helped organize the memorial stair climb. Approximately 300 people attended, from participants to volunteers and spectators, which is the most in the event's history. A participant himself, completing the climb allowed Todhunter to better appreciate the strength, honor and grit of those responders in the face of danger.
“It warms my heart seeing everything and everyone come together,” Todhunter said. “The opening ceremony was beautiful, in addition to the wonderful honor of the stair climb. It’s just awesome. Everyone is pushing from a physical standpoint, but it is also humbling because there are guys who made it to the top of the tower in a lot shorter time than most of us did here.”
Dr. Leslie Stockel, associate professor of professional practice in FCEM, is proud to have seen such great growth in participation in 2017. She said it is always special to see the unity, resilience and community support that brought people of all backgrounds together.
“Participation has grown steadily year after year, with this year being the largest number of over 300 climbers, volunteers and observers,” Stockel said. “It's powerful to see professors, students, alumni, Stillwater residents and people from fire departments all over the country, all climbing side by side, sharing stories afterward. We look forward to its continued growth in the future as a communitywide event.”
This event is entirely run and organized by FPS students. It has continued to grow since its inception in 2017, with an increase of nearly 100 in attendance from 2024 to 2025.
FPS President Nick Schopfer said it was an honor to help plan such a successful event, which represented the culmination of many different people coming together to honor first responders.
"There was a multitude of fire departments, alumni, university staff and students that came to show their support for the fallen, and I'm thankful I was able to help host an event for all these people to come show that support,” Schopfer said. “OSU staff across many different departments also played crucial roles in the planning phases, to all of whom I'm very thankful for making the 9/11 Stair Climb possible.”
Honoring their sacrifice
Dillon Liebenaeu is a member of the Ingalls Fire Department who took part in the memorial climb wearing full gear. He is a Marine veteran who enlisted after 9/11, serving his country before serving locally with IFD.
“It was one of the worst days in American history, so it’s great to honor the sacrifice made by first responders on that day and those who have sacrificed overseas,” Liebenaeu said.
Seth Rawleigh, an OSU freshman and a member of OSU ROTC, was among the first wave of participants to finish. One of the hardest and most rewarding things he has been a part of, he was able to better appreciate the effort those responders made on 9/11.
“There are so many people who gave their lives in response to 9/11,” Rawleigh said. “Standing here after honoring them is a little surreal. It’s something bigger than myself, and it’s a patriotic thing to honor that.”
Ethan Gant, a freshman FPSET major, said his dad always talked about the heroism displayed during 9/11 by firefighters and always held that close to his heart.
“I’ve grown up around the firefighter culture my whole life,” Gant said. “I’ve never done anything like this before, but I think it’s a great way to honor the courage and sacrifice they made on 9/11.”
