(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — After 19 years, Andrew Przybylo is still wondering: What if?
His young niece, Vanessa Kolpak of Lincolnwood, was killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 at the World Trade Center.
“I wonder what Vanessa would be like if she somehow was not in that building and survived the catastrophe,” Przybylo told WBBM Newsradio’s Steve Miller this week.
“Who would she be? I mean, she was a young woman who had such a bright future. Right out of Georgetown.”
Vanessa was 21 and only three weeks into her new job as a financial researcher on the 89th floor of the South Tower. She had graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown.
Her parents, the uncle says, are haunted by similar questions, too.
“They couldn’t help but project what it would be like with their daughter there, or how many other grandchildren they might have,” he said.
“They have one. Would Vanessa have brought them another one, two or three? You speculate these things. And you’re never away from it.”
Her mother had a teddy bear made out of the dress Vanessa wore to her job interview. The bear has been displayed at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
It has a ribbon around its neck and a tag that reads, “Love, Vanessa.”