Boston Stronger — 1 Year after Marathon Bombing

An open letter of gratitude to all ’SC students, alumni and faculty, who stood up or reached out to help Boston, and one of our own who was badly injured, become stronger after the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing: Thank you!

Though it has been many years since I attended my last class on campus and returned to Boston, when I found out one of our own ’SC alum was injured at the finish line and was in need of financial and emotional support I reached out to current and former SC students, alumni and faculty for help and the response was overwhelming

The last update on the ’SC alum was good news! She underwent multiple surgeries but was walking again and in the process of putting the pieces of her life back together.

Now we face another challenge: getting through the one-year anniversary. The Boston airwaves have been saturatedwith video and images of the tragedy and someone even decided to sabotage the memorial/tribute event by showing up barefoot, dressed in black, wearing a veil and dropping of a backpack on the ground forcing an emergency response and evacuation.

I am writing this letter today to ask my Trojan Family to keep Boston and all those impacted by the events of last year in your thoughts, especially as we move through the next few days.

April 15 marked the one-year anniversary since the bombing, but April 21 was the next Marathon date as it always falls on the third Monday of April.

We are Trojan Strong and together we make Boston Strong!

Gene Anthony “Gino” Mazzella, M.S. Gerontology

Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Class of ’95, ‘98