Alex Coulombe was studying abroad in London during the 20th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland – a terrorist attack that killed 270 people, including 35 Syracuse University students returning home from studying abroad.

Coulombe went to Lockerbie to watch a play performed by students on the positive connections between Syracuse and the Scottish town since the tragedy.

Later, when he chose to apply for the Remembrance Scholarship, he focused his application on those connections.

‘Yes, it’s a tragedy. Yes, it’s caused heartbreak, but the connection we have with Lockerbie now is something we’d never have had otherwise,’ Coulombe said. ‘It has created a sense of community, which is always quite beautiful.’

SU named 35 juniors, including Coulombe, as the 2009-2010 Remembrance Scholars on April 30. The students are selected to pay tribute to the 35 SU students who were killed in the bombing. A selection committee of 12 faculty and staff members, and 12 current Remembrance Scholars, review all of the applications and complete the interviews, said Judith O’Rourke, the director of undergraduate studies at SU and a member of the Remembrance Scholar Selection Committee.

Students are chosen based on a combination of academic excellence and community service, and each receive a $5,000 scholarship, O’Rourke said.

Each Remembrance Scholar chooses one of the 35 students to research and learn about. Then during Remembrance Week, which takes place during the last week of October, the scholars present a short speech about the person they chose during the annual rose-laying ceremony. The new Remembrance Scholars have not yet selected who they will honor yet.

‘It becomes more important because you spend time and energy remembering this person and hoping you can be one of the 35 people selected to embody them,’ said John Crandall, a junior anthropology major. ‘I’m not quite sure what that experience is going to be like yet.’

Many of the scholars will research their student through the Pan Am 103 archives, which are on the sixth floor of Bird Library. The archives contain newspaper clippings, books and photos that relate to the students who died.

Coulombe hopes to create a unique memorial for whomever he selects. He plans on creating a gallery of poetry, artwork and music to help honor the student.

The scholars will meet weekly when they return to campus in the fall to plan the Remembrance Week events.

‘I think it’s a wonderful tradition, because this tragic occurrence lost us a lot of special people with potential,’ said Patricia Abraham, a junior African American studies and English and textual studies major. ‘It makes me proud to represent and keep their memory alive.’

[email protected]

Published on May 13, 2009 at 12:00 pm