SU’s 10 visiting Lockerbie Scholars reflect on Pan Am Flight 103
“Being here makes all of that quite raw, because then that makes the connection real.” Ten students chosen as Lockerbie Scholars from Lockerbie, Scotland, visited SU this week and note the schools’ connection remains strong despite program changes. Lindsay Baloun | Contributing Photographer,
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Even though this year’s cohort of 10 Lockerbie Scholars wasn’t alive for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, they all agree their connections to the attack, and in turn, Syracuse University, remain strong.
Young people in Lockerbie, a town with a population of 4,000, don’t just “learn” about the tragedy that killed 259 passengers and 11 bystanders, James Johnson, one of this year’s Lockerbie Scholars, said.
“It’s like talking, you’ll never remember when you learned how,” Johnson said. “You just grew up with the fact that the worst terrorist attack in Europe happened over the skies in your town.”
This is what makes the group’s trip to Syracuse during Remembrance Week “fascinating,” but emotionally challenging, Brian Asher, the scholars’ head teacher, said.
“Being here makes all of that quite raw, because then that makes the connection real,” Asher said. “It’s hard to put into words, but it’s been their life, and to be here is very precious.”
This is the first year SU has hosted 10 students. Since 1990, two Lockerbie college freshmen have received a full scholarship to attend SU for their first year, which SU will return to in 2026. The group of scholars from secondary school Lockerbie Academy was selected through a “competitive” application process, according to SU’s website.
The group arrived in Syracuse Monday and spent their time touring campus, walking around Destiny USA and attending SU’s Remembrance Week events. On Wednesday, they joined SU’s 35 Remembrance Scholars for “Sitting in Solidarity,” where they sat for 35 minutes reflecting on those who died in the attack.
Lola Jeanne Carpio | Contributing Photographer
10 students chosen as Lockerbie Scholars from Lockerbie, Scotland, visited SU this week and note the schools’ connection remains strong despite program changes.
For the visiting scholars, the trip has brought fascination with Syracuse’s size and diversity. But many scholars have found Remembrance Week difficult, as they have direct connections to the attack.
Johnson said visiting SU is a way to honor his grandmother, a doctor and medical examiner who worked to treat and identify victims following the attack.
“She’s quite proud that I’m here,” Johnson said. “It’s quite a privilege to be able to represent those who were lost, as well as keep their memory alive even 37 years later.”
Lockerbie Scholar Ailay Carruthers said her familial connections to the accident have made her visit difficult. She said her great-grandmother, who witnessed the attack and died a year ago, lived on Park Place, where nearby houses were destroyed by a large part of the aircraft.
“My granny was really affected by it her whole life. It stayed with her,” Carruthers said. “It’s just really important to share her story and make it known to other people what she went through.”
Yvie Stewart, another Lockerbie Scholar, said her dad was around her age during the attack and uncovered the bodies of three victims on their family farm two miles outside of Lockerbie.
“I’m just glad I got to come here, because it’s not something many people get to experience,” Stewart said. “I’m glad I get to represent my dad in a way as well.”
Thursday night, Carruthers and Stewart are scheduled to give a presentation about the bombing and what it meant for the people of Lockerbie.
Despite the changes in the Lockerbie Scholar program, the scholars have found a way to derive meaning from the trip. Asher said the group of 12, including the head teachers, represent the 11 Lockerbie residents who died in the attack and survivor Steven Flannigan, who died in 2000.
“To be the first group of 10 people means a lot,” scholar Amelia Cameron said. “It’s like you’re representing your whole family, your nanas, everybody, and you’re feeling the responsibility.”
For many of the scholars, connecting with SU students allows them to share their experiences with the SU community. For Iona Yule, the opportunity to be a scholar allows her to educate others about Lockerbie’s path to resilience after the attack.
“A lot of people think it’s all we want to be known for, heartbreak and tragedy,” Yule said. “But really, we want to be known for resilience, being able to stand up for ourselves as a small town every day.”
Johnson said most Lockerbie residents know SU by name, cherishing their relationship with the university. Jonathan Brandt, another scholar, said Remembrance Week allows Lockerbie residents and SU students to reflect on the attack and celebrate the historic connection.
“It should be remembered for not being a moment of disaster, but a moment of time where our relationship between two communities grew in the midst of tragedy,” Brandt said. “It’s this sense of something good that can happen from something so treacherous that restores humanity again.”
Asher said the trip continues the university’s tradition of creating something positive out of tragedy and providing human and experiential connections along the way.
“For something so deliberately awful to happen to Lockerbie, this gives us a chance to do something deliberately positive,” Asher said. “To make sure that none of that was in vain, and that the legacy of acting forward is something that we can intentionally do day in and day out, and year in and year out.”
The Lockerbie Scholars will return home on Friday. Reflecting on their time in New York so far, they said they’ve embraced the theme — “Look back, act forward” — taking meaning in their visit as they share Lockerbie’s story.
“It means looking back, remembering what happened, but acting forward, just like the way that everyone in Lockerbie tied together after tragedy,” Yule said.
