Today marks the 18th anniversary of perhaps the most horrific day in modern American history - the day when over 3,000 Americans were killed due to the acts of cowardly terrorists. I still can't believe it has been this long.Today, just like I've done every September 11th since 2002, I pause to remember of one of our friends from my alma mater, Wagner College. Michael DeRienzo was one of my friends and TKE brothers who had moved on after college to become a finance type of person and one who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North WTC Tower on the day of 9/11/2001. To put our school's location in perspective, Lower Manhattan was right on the other side of New York Harbor from Wagner and many graduates had their senior picture taken from the roof of 15-story Harbor View Hall with the Twin Towers in the background. On that fateful day, many Wagner students were able to witness the explosions from their dorm room and the second plane appeared to have circled back toward Manhattan from just over the campus.
As a tribute, I wrote this piece for a special issue of the Wagnerian, our school newspaper which I was editor of in 1985-86. I also posted it to an online tribute website at the request of Ken Nilsen, fellow frater, and now Dean of Student Life at Stevens Tech in NJ. From this, Hank Nuwer, the site's caretaker, published it as part of a tribute to fallen fraternity and sorority members. Since then, Hank, a journalism professor and foremost authority on hazing and fraternal issues, has become a friend and mentor for me.
Anyhow, over the years, several people have asked for a copy of this tribute to our friend Michael DeRienzo, affectionately known as "Mikey D" to us at Wagner. On this, the day before the 10th anniversary of his death, in his honor, I would like to resubmit a writing of 15 years ago, simply titled, Remembering Mikey D.
R.I.P. Michael DeRienzo -- 9/11/2001
Michael DeRienzo, Class of ’87, was one of many lost in Sept. 11 tragedy
I know that the tragic events of September 11th affected everybody that is going to read this. We continually feel the pain, and it is a horrible pain. Our hearts have reached out, and we feel for our families and friends.
The Wagner community lost good friends on that terrible day. Michael DeRienzo is the friend that some of us knew best, and with the help of his friends, I wish to tell you why our “Mikey D” meant so much to us.
Our Wagner history dates back 15 years or so, but the time frame really doesn’t matter. We did the same things as current students do. We played football on the Oval, painted the anchor for Homecoming, grabbed a bite in the Hawk’s nest when the dinner menu looked bad, and as Tau Kappa Epsilon brothers, enjoyed our fraternity home. At that time, it was in a dark hallway under Cunard Hall.
Mike was a big part of our college experience. He was a Staten islander, and attended Wagner with his twin sister Lisa. They were very close, in a way that only twins can know. Their mother, Mrs. DeRienzo, also worked at Wagner, in the audio-visual department. She was a single parent, so it was just the three of them, and it must have been special to be that close on a daily basis.
Chris Ryan remembers Mike with one word – family. In January of 1986, the DeRienzos invited a large group of people over to their home to watch the Super Bowl. It was quite obvious to see how close they were. Last spring, Chris played the role of host when Mike and Steve Mehler passed through his home in Albany, en route to some skiing in Vermont. As he recalls, it was a meeting filled with big laughs, and big smiles. A couple of beers at Troy Pub, a quaint establishment where Chris is managing these days. A great visit. There was no reason to think it wouldn’t be repeated at a later date, but as Chris recalls, “I’m a handshaker, not a hugger. I’m glad I was a hugger that day.”
The day after the attack, Wade Appelman was stuck in Atlanta, GA, quite far from his home in Boulder, CO. There were no planes flying out, and a 22-hour car ride awaited. Wade began telling his work colleagues about his last “road trip.” Again, this dates back to 1986, more specifically, “Spring Break.” Wade, Raj Muthusamy, Dave Smolka, Pete Radigan and Mikey loaded their gear into Wade’s 1968 Mercury Montclair and headed to Ft. Myers, FL. To keep their expenses low, they spent a few days at Wade’s grandparents’ house.
Swimming in the family pool was fun, but Mike was getting edgy, so he invited Wade’s octogenarian grandfather out to a nice local restaurant… Hooters! Over a decade later, the grandparents still ask about the “nice boy that took Grandpa to that restaurant with the girls in the orange shorts.”
Mike had a sly sense of humor about him. I can recall bringing my then-fiancée’ to New York in 1990. A bunch of us went carousing through the city - Mike, Raj, Steve, possibly Brian Buckley, myself and my fiancée’ Ritz. Funny thing about our trips to Manhattan, during college and after; a visit to McSorley’s Pub always found its way onto the itinerary, and it certainly did so on this night. After a while, my hollow leg filled up, and I had to excuse myself to go visit the trough (literally, it’s a ditch.) This was never a quick process at McSorley’s, with the single relief facility and the waiting line.
During my extended absence, one of the other customers decided to go talk with the single woman who, in spite of her engagement ring, looked to be alone. His advances were quickly shut down, not by Ritz, but my Mikey, who advised the gentleman that pursuing a conversation with “my wife!” was not a good idea. Embarrassed, the Romeo wannabe left.
Most often, Mike’s humor came out in a positive way. I always thought that Mike reminded me of Jerry Seinfeld, without the biting sarcasm. Years ago, Mike learned that I had taken up singing, country music nonetheless. For a New Yorker talking to a Virginian, he could have had a field day with this. Instead, his correspondences would ask whether I had met Garth Brooks yet. No, Garth never quite made it to the Cowboy Café on Route 1.
Ernie Jackson has a much better recollection. Ernie and Mikey were fellow R.A.’s; in fact, his favorite memory of Mike was watching him perform the dreaded “Exterminator Duty,” required of all R.A.’s on Friday morning. Mike didn’t immediately understand Ernie. He was music major and played the guitar. Mike got a few laughs from that; after all, who goes to college to learn how to play the guitar? But it wasn’t mean spirited. In fact, after some time, it was obvious that it was his way of showing acceptance. It must have had some effect, as the two would laugh about those days later while riding the Staten Island railway from Dongan Hills. In Mikey’s honor, Ernie is having a custom guitar built and donated to Wagner College. From what I’ve heard, it’s going to be one awesome ax.
Ernie touched on some other points that I have heard many times in the three weeks since learning of Mike’s passing. His infectious smile, can-do attitude, positive outlook, they all existed. Tom Kettell mentioned Mike’s easy demeanor, and that was also a great part of Mike’s personality. But he possessed a charm that’s hard to explain.
Here’s one example of this. In the mid-1980’s, the Wagnerian office was located in Union 227. Its location made it the perfect shortcut to get to the cafeteria, and most of my TKE brothers traveled freely through the office before and after meals. Looking back, we should have charged a toll. This used to drive my dear friend and Wagnerian editor successor Mystica Alexander crazy to no end. But she did make mention of the fact that “well, at least Mikey D stops and says hi and how are things going? He’s probably the nicest of your fraternity brothers.” I may have to answer for this later, and the wording may not be exact, but the thought is there. Actually, it was Mystica who informed me of the tragic news of Mike’s death.
It was terrific to see that Mike turned into an accomplished adult. He graduated from Wagner in 1987, with a degree in business administration. After five years at U.S. Trust in Manhattan, he took a position as a broker with Cantor Fitzgerald, and worked on the 104th floor of 1 World Trade Center.
I only know one detail of Mike’s whereabouts on the morning of September 11th. He had arrived for work and was there at 8:46 AM, when a jumbo jet crashed into his building. He was at work and this was confirmed by a call from Todd Rutman, the father of Mike’s goddaughter. Mike assured Todd that they had heard an explosion downstairs and were leaving the building immediately. I don’t know the tone of this conversation, but I get the feeling that Mike was optimistic about his chances for survival that day.
A scholarship fund has been started in Mike’s name. Donations can be made out to the Michael DeRienzo Scholarship Fund, Wagner College, 1 Campus Road, Staten Island, NY 10301.
It is hard to confine the grief that we have all felt and are still feeling. There are other Wagner graduates who lost their lives on September 11th, and we mourn for Timothy Finnerty, Michael Clarke, Joseph Doyle, and Michael Cammarata. Although this is written for our friend and fraternity brother, the hurt is also felt for the people that we never had the opportunity to meet.
Our community at Wagner lost a great deal of innocence on September 11th. It is saddest to realize that some of our most innocent friends and family members were the ones who died. To our friend, Mikey D., we pray for your soul and for your family. You were a great friend to many of us, and we will greatly miss you. Goodbye, friend.
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