Two wood pieces in the shape of towers stand tall on the five by five-foot sculpture. Layered on top, two falling glass shards are supported by a copper and aluminum ribbon to represent unity and strength. Together, these layered pieces honor the teachers who showed dedication and commitment to their school children on Sept. 11.

Phi Delta Kappa, an organization for graduate students in education, dedicated a memorial last Friday to these teachers.

"We felt compelled to create a memorial not only in the honor of those who perished, but also in honor of those teachers who were brave enough to help out in a very scary situation," said Sarah Green (graduate-secondary education).

The idea for a memorial initiated by Phi Delta Kappa came as a result of the many stories they were hearing about teachers saving their students.

"A colleague of mine came to read me a story about a teacher who saved her last kindergartner just minutes before the debris fell," Green said. "Stories kept on coming out of the press and were not getting a lot of media alert so we decided to create a memorial."

The memorial will be hung on Friday in a new student lounge in Chambers Building.

"Sarah came to me and asked me if she could use the space for a memorial. I was delighted to say yes," said David Monk, dean of the College of Education. "We are very proud of PDK (Phi Delta Kappa), and the effort they put forward; it was a real grass-roots effort."

The memorial will serve as a permanent reminder of those teachers who safely evacuated over 2,000 students before the debris from the World Trade Center towers came crashing down on their school buildings.

"I think that for those who have the opportunity to occasion the memorial, it will be a constant reminder of the role of the teacher in education and the responsibility that may fall on your shoulders," said State College Mayor Bill Welch.

Made of wood, glass and metal, the materials of the memorial are representative of those that make up school buildings across the nation. In order to make sure that a common goal and vision for the memorial was achieved, Phi Delta Kappa worked closely with sculptor Jaimeson Daley (junior-art).

"I think that there are a lot of different ways to interpret it," Daley said. "I didn't want to confine it to just one." Despite the different ways of interpreting the piece, many hope that it will achieve a common goal.

"I hope it is a reminder of what happened and it keeps the idea of freedom prominent in the minds of those who see it," said Jeff Deitrich, coordinator of college relations for the College of Education.