Amelia Pico-Martines

Nicole Carol Miller

On March 4th, 1980 in San Jose, California, a baby girl named Nicole was welcomed into
the world by a caring and loving family. She grew up, attending Allen Elementary
School, Harte Middle School, and Pioneer High school, all in her city of San Jose, until
finally graduating in 1998. Throughout high school, Nicole was a good student, who was
also well rounded as she was on the championship varsity swimming/diving team and
was awarded with a softball scholarship. She was always active even after high school, as
she would hike or ride horses. She was on the Deans List at West Valley College in
Saratoga, California and was planning to transfer to California State in 2002. She was
studying physical therapy and nutrition and was also a trainer for those working at IBM.
It was said she had a beautiful smile. She had always been seen as full of energy and life.
She was just a 21-year-old girl full of potential and happiness until she boarded Flight 93
on September 11th, 2001, due to a storm conflicting her planned flight for the day before,
to return home from a vacation.

What I discovered about Ms. Miller was that everyone who met her, loved her. In fact,
before that fateful day, she had ordered a phone from Radio Shack. Upon hearing the
news of her passing, the employee called her family and expressed condolences. He told
them that he had only known her for an hour, but he could sense her sweetness. I also
uncovered a flower; A Grandiflora Rose, to be exact. This flower goes by another name,
Nicole Carol Miller. They are a soft pink-purple, emitting a sweet citrus smell. I found it
intriguing that someone who could be described as pretty as a rose would be the
namesake of such beautiful one.

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There is a memorial in New York where you can find Nicoles name. Around a flowing
waterfall, there are parapets covered with names of the fallen. There is also a museum
that explores the events of 9/11, documents their effects, the impact of those events and
9/11's continuing significance.

This assignment helped me understand the enormity of 9/11. When I first heard the name
Nicole Carol Miller, I had no idea how she had anything to do with 9/11, and quite
frankly I was worried that there would be no information on one tiny victim compared to
all the lives taken on that disastrous day, but after further research I realized: Nicole
Miller was not some unimportant causality on a day of death, but a person. A person who
had a life, a dream, a family, a love, and a plan, all cut short by hate. It also helped me
connect to the victims of 9/11 by realizing their existence. September 11th always felt like
an event from a very long time ago with nothing relating to right now, to me. By learning
the background of someone like Nicole Miller I comprehend its importance to so many
whose worlds turned upside down because of 9/11. Those whose world changed with the
death of Nicole Miller are her father, David J. Miller; stepmother, Catherine M. Miller;
mother, Cathy M. Stefani; stepfather, Wayne Stefani Sr.; and her siblings, Tiffney M.
Miller, David S. Miller, Danielle L. Miller, Wayne Stefani Jr., Joshua R. D. Tenorio, and
Anthony D. Tenorio. They do everything they can to keep Nicole alive and unforgotten.

If Nicole Carol Miller were a family member or friend of mine I would, with no doubt
make it my business to keep her from being forgotten. Since she was on her way to

Amelia Pico-Martines
California State, I would have tried to create a memorial for her there, a plaque, a bench,
even a brick, that way, she could have gone to where she was headed.