On September 11, 2001, Lolita Jackson was in a meeting in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when the North Tower was struck by the first hijacked airplane. Following an announcement, Jackson and her colleagues at Morgan Stanley were instructed to take an elevator to the lobby and await further directions. Jackson separated from her friend and coworker Tom Swift, who chose to stay behind to call his wife. While Jackson and most others evacuated safely, Swift was among the nearly 3,000 victims who perished in the attacks.

The deaths of Swift and others profoundly affected Jackson and their close-knit group of friends and colleagues, forcing them to reevaluate their lives and careers. Doug Brown, also a former Morgan Stanley employee and part of the same circle, expressed persistent struggle with survivor’s guilt, describing the randomness of survival that day as deeply haunting.

In the years following the attacks, Jackson left the finance sector, pursuing public service and her passion for jazz singing. Brown transitioned from tutoring elementary students in reading to working full-time for literacy nonprofits. Another colleague, Nancy Karole Kennedy, who was a manager at Morgan Stanley at the time, eventually departed from finance to engage in disaster response and, later, cancer care fundraising.

Kennedy recounted the emotional toll of 9/11 on her team, many of whom were in their 20s and 30s, and the effort she made to support them despite her own struggles with grief. She credited Rick Rescorla, the head of security at Morgan Stanley who died that day while leading evacuation efforts, with saving many lives. About a year after the attacks, Kennedy began volunteering with the Red Cross, responding to various disasters by helping set up shelters and offer aid. She is currently the director of development at the cancer center at Hackensack Meridian Health.

The experiences of 9/11 survivors like Jackson, Brown, and Kennedy highlight a phenomenon known as post-traumatic growth, in which some individuals who endure traumatic events develop a renewed sense of purpose or increased compassion. Psychologist Richard Tedeschi, executive director of the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth, explained that while many survivors may endure symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), others find a pathway to personal growth by reconstructing their beliefs about safety and meaning.

Wake Forest University psychology professor Eranda Jayawickreme noted that finding meaning in the trauma can help survivors regain a sense of control and avoid feeling like passive victims. For Jackson, the realization that she did not want to die for her Wall Street career prompted a shift toward volunteering and public service. She later joined the New York City mayor’s office, where she helped manage public affairs following Hurricane Sandy and trained employees to work sensitively with grieving communities.

Experts say that turning to help others often facilitates healing for trauma survivors. Tedeschi observed that although the aftermath of such events can feel overwhelming, many survivors ultimately discover resilience and purpose, giving rise to unexpected personal growth.