William Tan Photo by Jon Chase/Harvard News Office

When William Tan decided to come to HSPH last year, he debated about whether to delay his departure from his native Singapore for one week to spend more time with his widowed mother. The family had recently held a memorial service for Tan’s father, who had died one year before, and Tan wanted to support his mother in her grief. In the end, he decided to come to HSPH on time and landed at Logan Airport on September 9, less than 36 hours before two planes took off from the same airport destined to ram into the World Trade Center in New York City. After the attacks, the sadness Tan felt at remembering his father’s death suddenly grew to include grief for the September 11th victims and empathy for their families.

"I never saw an incident on that scale before," said Tan, who graduated from HSPH in the spring. "I felt that it awakened something inside of me."

Tan is planning a "Race of Remembrance" to honor the victims of the September 11th attacks. A wheelchair athlete, Tan plans on pushing his wheelchair from Boston to New York City and then to Washington, DC.

"We are all bound together in spirit," said Tan. "This project will celebrate the courage and determination of the victims and their families."

At 7 p.m. on September 10th, Tan will begin his odyssey in Boston Common with a candlelight vigil. He will invite the public to join him for two miles, possibly wending to the Charles River where paper boats will be released onto the water in honor of the victims; Tan is waiting for permission from the Boston City Council to release the paper boats. Then Tan will begin pushing his wheelchair to New York City, accompanied by a support vehicle.

Once in Manhattan, Tan will wheel with friends, well-wishers, and members of the public for two miles, starting near Ground Zero at 8:46 a.m. on September 11th, the time when the first plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers.

From New York City, Tan will push his wheelchair to Washington, DC, where he will be greeted by the Singapore ambassador to the US and the Singapore representative to the United Nations.

Tan has planned his project in partnership with the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and the United Way of New York City. He will be raising money for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.

Tan is a veteran fundraiser for charities and non-profit institutions. Last spring, he raised $20,000 for Children’s Hospital by competing in the Boston Marathon (Kohl’s Department Store matched the funds Tan raised dollar for dollar. He has expressed appreciation for the generous donations from HSPH students and from staff members.)

At various times during the past 16 years, Tan has pushed his wheelchair great distances to raise money for various causes: kidney patients who could not afford dialysis treatments, people who needed prosthetics/orthotics at a hospital in Singapore, children with disabilities. He has wheeled from Thailand to Singapore and crossed both Malaysia and New Zealand in his wheelchair to raise funds.

At HSPH’s Commencement in June, Tan received the Albert Schweitzer Award, given annually to a graduating student whose past work and current activities have been marked by a "reverence for life" and who has sought, as expressed by Schweitzer, to "make my life my argument."

"Dr. Schweitzer’s reverence for life is something that I also value and treasure--helping the poor, sick, and the needy achieve a better quality of life," said Tan. "To see innocent lives taken in the manner they were on September 11th was heartwrenching."

Tan also wants to recognize the volunteers who helped during the aftermath of September 11th and the people who donated blood.

On September 6, today, Tan will set up a table in the Kresge Cafeteria with sponsor sheets at lunchtime.

For more information, contact Tan at wtan@hsph.harvard.edu.