The first speaker of this year's University Speaker Series was chief and battalion commander Richard Picciotto of the New York City Fire Department, the highest ranking firefighter to survive the World Trade Center attack. He was a police officer for five years before he became a firefighter.

September 11, 2001, began as a regular day in Manhattan for Picciotto. At 8:45 a.m., Picciotto said he heard an announcement that the North Tower of the World Trade Center was hit by a plane.

"We take calculated risks," Picciotto said. "We take risks to protect life and property. It's not an unnecessary risk, not a foolish risk, it's a calculated risk. It's not an exact science. You go with the gut, by the training, what you learned over the years, and my gut is telling me to get everyone out of this building."

When Picciotto arrived to the North Tower, he heard loud noises. It was the sound of people jumping out of the building, he said.

He looked up to the top of the building and knew he had to get people out. The fire going through the elevator shafts couldn't be put out, but an attempt to contain it could be made. His initial duty was to get to those on the 20th and 23rd floor because they were stuck.

As he went up one of the stairwells, everyone came down the opposite side. People offered him words of encouragement as he went.

"The other thing that happens in emergency, people look to leadership. They're looking for someone to tell them what to do. Most people during an emergency want to do the right thing. They just don't know what that is," Picciotto said.

There was a total of 120 floors in the tower. He only went up 35. Every 5 floors from the lobby, he did a quick survey of the damage.

When on the 35th floor, he stopped and the building began shaking and banging loudly. The noise went from above Picciotto, almost literally through him, to below him, then stopped. When the noise stopped, the shaking stopped. The silence was loud. Everyone looked to him.

He got a message that the South Tower is down. He knew the North Tower was going to be next.

"I made the decision, we have to evacuate, we have to get out of this building. So toughest decision I ever made in my life," Picciotto said.

It was the toughest decision he ever made because he thought about the people stuck above him. They almost had no chance of survival since the firefighters were also ordered to evacuate.

He radioed as far as he could to tell everyone to leave. As he headed back down the stairwell from the 35th floor, he did a sweep of every floor to make sure everyone was out.

At the 19th floor, Picciotto had to squeeze through the stairwell. The people were stopped. Word traveled to him that the debris had filled the stairwell, and there was no way out. Everyone had to go down one stairwell.

When Picciotto got to the sixth floor, the noise began again. Only this time, it was louder and more violent than before. It took the North Tower only eight seconds to come down. His life flashed before his eyes.

"Please God, make it quick," Picciotto said he remembered thinking.

He began freefalling. Suddenly, it was black, hot, smoky, silent, and he thought he was dead. When Picciotto came to, it was just him and 13 other people in complete darkness. He sent out several Maydays but did not get any acknowledgment until an hour and a half later.

He turned on his bullhorn every five and 10 minutes. An hour or two went by, and still, he was not heard. He began to get fatigued. Then he saw a grey speck and asked those with him if they saw it too. They did. The spot began to get brighter.

Picciotto climbed up to see what it was and came out on the other side of the largest pile of debris. No other human was around or seen. They hadn't made it to the middle of the debris yet. Not everyone with him under the rubble made it out. Some were fatally injured and an elderly injured woman had to be brought out with a stretcher, which took many hours.

Picciotto addressed in his speech a question that is often asked of him, which is what lessons he learned from his experience.

"If you're like me, you kind of forget about what's really important.... Don't take your family and friends for granted. Love them, cherish them. Tell them you love them, you don't do it enough." Picciotto said.

The support of friends, family and his faith got him through it all.

"Please pray for the troops and support them," Picciotto said.

Many Southeast students, faculty, and even seventh-12th grade students from Marquand-Zion School District were in attendance. Most of the students who were there do not remember the happenings of 9/11 in what is now their history.

"Well, since we were young, we don't really remember much about it. It was nice to hear somebody that's been there and how it made an impact on the whole country," freshman Jenna Gillette said.

The impact of this first speaker made a huge impact on those who could not bring to mind that exact moment for themselves.

"I just thought it was awesome," freshman Miranda Jones said. "I never thought I would meet somebody that actually lived through that and it just made it seem so real. It's crazy to think about all the stuff that happened. Even though I was young, it still affects me, and I know it affects other people who are here or are going to be born still. It's a big event. I think it's really awesome that he goes around telling his story and that he wrote a book about it."

The country changed after the events of 9/11 took place.

"We became a closer, more united country. It didn't matter if we had differences, difference of politics, difference of religion, you know, nothing mattered. We were Americans, we were attacked and we banded together," Picciotto said.

Of the 10,000 firefighters in New York, 643 were killed. Picciotto wrote a New York Times Bestseller called "The Last Man Down."