Mark Lawrence Tobin, a Long Island native, was an aspiring broadcast journalist when he died in a terrorist attack aboard Pan Am Flight 103 on Dec. 21, 1988.

Elissa Candiotti, a senior broadcast and digital journalism major and Long Islander, told Tobin’s story to the Syracuse University community Sunday night at a candlelight vigil.

Standing in front of her fellow Remembrance Scholars, SU students and community members, Candiotti was overcome with emotion when it was her turn to speak about Tobin, who Candiotti represents as part of the scholar program.

In between sobs, she described a young adult who shared her passion for broadcast journalism.

“(It was) an indescribable feeling. I think that everyone who came out here tonight felt it. There’s no words for it,” she said.

Candiotti is one of 35 Remembrance Scholars who represent each SU student who died on Pan Am Flight 103. The students were returning to the United States from a semester abroad.

The vigil started at Hendricks Chapel and made its way to the Place of Remembrance in front of the Hall of Languages. About 200 attendees each lit a candle in memory of those who died in the attack.

The Remembrance Scholars — all seniors — described the students they now represent.

Alex Alvarez Claudio, a Remembrance Scholar, said Alexia Tsairis, the victim he represents, was a member of the varsity volleyball team who had a passion for photography. Claudio is a Latino-Latin American studies major.

Vigil attendees surrounded the scholars, listening to stories.

Justine Paul, a senior bioengineering major, who represents Louise “Luann” Rogers, said it can be easy to relate to Pan Am victims.

“We hoped to have (the audience) understand that some of the personalities and characteristics that we spoke about (with) all the victims, they found themselves falling into those same categories,” she said.

Kennedy Patlan, a senior triple major in advertising, citizenship and civic engagement and women’s and gender studies, said she hopes the SU campus community can learn how to both remember and move forward from a tragedy.

“We can really create dialogue and conversations on how to act forward collectively together, regarding some really difficult conversations around terrorism, around difference and around how we can move forward when acts of tragedy occur,” Patlan said.

Candiotti said while the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing will always be remembered as a tragedy, the candlelight vigil — and all of Remembrance Week — should be about “(finding) ways to cast light in dark shadows.”

“It’s not a week that we should feel depressed. It’s not a week that we should feel like we’re mourning,” she said. “We should be celebrating these lives that are so special while continuing to honor these legacies.”

Published on October 22, 2017 at 11:56 pm

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326