Alumni and Friends React To Tragedy September 24, 2001 Dear Eau Claire Alumni, Being one of the family, a ’93 Honors Graduate, I wanted to share my personal experiences of the events of September 11.  I work for Men’s Health magazine.  I hold down the Midwest for our global organization and the morning of September 11 I was supposed to be on a plane to New York to attend a Men's Health organized event that was to happen in Manhattan on that evening.  I didn't make it there.  Thankfully all of my coworkers are safe and sound in the mid-Manhattan location, but there is one poignant story that has profoundly effected all of us.  My co-worker, Maria Barreto, was engaged to Dennis Mojica, a New York firefighter.  Dennis was in the first wave of responders to the disaster.  Sadly, he was one of the 1,000’s lost that morning.   Maria met President Bush this past Saturday, Sept. 15, and told him her story.  President Bush was visibly shaken and told Maria that he would attend her December 10th wedding.  Her response was, “don’t think you’re not going to dance!”  Later that morning, Dennis’ body was found with the fire hose still in his hands.  Maria has been an inspiration to us all at Men’s Health as she demonstrates the utmost of grace, strength and acceptance, when life has dealt her the cruelest blow of all. Sincerely, Brittney Travnick ’92 (A&S) Chicago, Ill.