“Let's Roll” Author Lisa Beamer to Speak at Commencement

Lisa Beamer, wife of 9-11 victim Todd Beamer and author of “Let’s Roll,” the heroic story of United Flight 93, will address Westmont’s class of 2003 at commencement ceremonies 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. May 3 in Murchison Gymnasium.
Expected rain forced the services inside, and because of very limited seating, commencement is not open to the public this year.

Lisa Beamer’s book, “Let’s Roll, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage,” chronicles the last hours of Todd Beamer’s life and the acts of those courageous individuals on Flight 93 who decided to take action to stop terrorists from using their plane as a weapon.

In the days following the 9-11 tragedy, Lisa Beamer became a symbol of hope, faith and grace, appearing first during President Bush’s speech following the attacks, and many times after on national television shows. Her book is a graceful account of her life with Todd Beamer and the days and months following his death. She had to confront her own grief as well as the grief of her two young boys, and then face the birth of their third child without her husband.

Lisa Beamer has since established a national foundation – the Todd M. Beamer Foundation – to benefit the children of the families who lost loved ones in the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and outside Pittsburgh, where Flight 93 crashed. Her own children are exempt from the foundation.

Lisa and Todd Beamer met at and graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois, a high-quality Christian liberal arts college similar to Westmont. After many months of appearances and interviews, Lisa Beamer today focuses on raising her three children.

For more information on commencement or Lisa Beamer and her book, “Let’s Roll,” call the Westmont public affairs office at (805) 565-7057, or e-mail jfisk@westmont.edu.