Dec. 21, 1988.

For many, this date has no significance. For most students on campus, it came before they were even born. For incoming freshmen just getting accustomed to college life, most, if not all, stare at that date without a flicker of acknowledgement.

But that date shouldn’t be forgotten. Not now, not ever, and two students have traveled many miles to remember it.

Each year since the fall of 1990, two graduating high school students from Lockerbie, Scotland spend one academic year at Syracuse University as “Lockerbie Scholars,” before they begin their university study.

But it all began with a flight on Dec. 21, 1988: Pan Am Flight 103. That day, the plane took off from the London Heathrow airport toward its destination of John F. Kennedy International Airport. The friends and family of 35 SU students anxiously awaited their return after a semester abroad in London or Florence.

The plane never made it.

Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed and crashed into Lockerbie, a city in southern Scotland. It killed 11 people on the ground, as well as all the passengers and crew members. 189 of those were Americans, and until 9/11, Pan Am was considered the deadliest act of terrorism on the U.S.

From that day on, Lockerbie and SU would be connected. It’s something that Claire Dorrance realized, as she grew up hearing more and more from a first-hand account: her father. At the age of 18, he was the first and youngest off-duty police officer on the scene, an experience that “affected him greatly along with the majority of the town’s population.”

And while she claims that people in Lockerbie rarely talk about that night — the scar still runs very deep — a conversation was sparked on the first day of high school.

Every year at Lockerbie Academy, the town’s public high school, the new pupils are guided into their assembly hall and sit down for an induction. Then, the head teacher talks about the Syracuse-Lockerbie Scholarship — jointly funded by SU and the Lockerbie Trust — and how two of those sitting within the audience will be “Syracuse Scholars” one day, which is what they are called in Lockerbie.

“I knew then that it was something I wanted to pursue and work towards,” Dorrance said. “Not simply for the amazing opportunity that it is, but because it’s living proof that good can come out of bad.”

Rachel Nicholson sat in the vicinity and recalled listening to this speech about something she “always wanted to aim to achieve.” Despite an early conversation with her parents, it wasn’t until she started at the academy that she fully understood the effect it had on the town, people, and families and friends of the victims.

Nicholson, now a Lockerbie Scholar, believes the most important reasons for this are to raise awareness and remember the people who tragically lost their lives, in an effort to prevent future incidents.

Years later, Nicholson, who had been to Florida twice, and Dorrance, who had visited Walt Disney World three times, stepped into Syracuse. The two girls, who lived roughly 10 minutes from each other back in Scotland, were under the same roof for a few days. Arriving a few days before students were allowed to move on campus to get more settled in, they stayed at Eileen Fahey’s lake house.

Fahey, an administrative assistant in the Office of Undergraduate Studies, and Judy O’Rourke, director of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, helped the students adjust to the area and worked closely with the Lockerbie and Remembrance Scholars throughout the year.

During their experience so far, Syracuse has been a friendly and welcoming environment for the students.

Some ways to orient the Scottish girls included meeting with academic advisors, setting up bank accounts, getting mobile phones, going to SU Health Services and finding the best places to shop. Nicholson noted that the one suitcase of stuff she brought was not enough.

Looking ahead, she anticipates meeting a wide range of people and immersing herself in the American culture. Although she’s only been here for a short amount of time, the differences she’s spotted include the “confusing roads” and the ability to have a takeout box — usually Nicholson has to sneak things into her bag. Another apparent difference is the warm, sunny weather. Although it is a fleeting accessory at SU, Scotland’s summer lacked it.

For Dorrance, it’s hard to pick what she’s most looking forward to, but above all, sums it up to meeting new people.

“Although Lockerbie is home, it’s great to walk down the street here and no one have a clue as to who you are,” Dorrance said.

Lockerbie’s town motto stands as “move forward,” but the two girls are helping the campus to never forget.

Published on August 27, 2012 at 1:34 am

Contact Colleen: cbidwill@syr.edu