Jillian Suarez, daughter of a New York police officer who died a hero saving people during 9/11, has joined the city's police academy, according to 9/11 Memorial and Museum blog.
Jillian Suarez, 27, was 9 when NYPD Officer Ramon Suarez died Sept. 11, 2001, saving people from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, according to CNN. Last week, she was one of 270 other police recruits to take the Oath of Honor at the police academy, noted WPIX-TV.
Suarez graduated from St. John's University and worked at the NYPD Forensics Lab before joining the police academy, WPIX-TV said.
"I chose my career because of him," Jillian Suarez said on the 9/11 blog. "I mean, I did it because of him. I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Like mommy said, I'm just like him. If people need me, I'll drop anything. I don't care what it is. I guess I'm just following in his footsteps and I didn't notice it until now."
Jillian Suarez's mother, Carmen, said she remembered how her husband overcame obstacles to reach the World Trade Center to start saving people.
"He was absolutely wonderful," Carmen Suarez told her daughter during an interview on the 9/11 blog. "… And on [Sept. 11], he was at his regular post and he decided to – he heard the chaos on the radio and he hailed a cab and [then] ran to the World Trade Center to help everyone.
"As far as [being] your dad, he was the love of my life. He was a wonderful man and a wonderful husband. And as you know, he was a wonderful dad because he loved you very much," Carmen Suarez continued.
Jillian Suarez told WPIX-TV that the terrorist attacks happened two days before her birthday and remembered seeing him in uniform all the time.
"I always admired him for that," Jillian Suarez told the television station. "He truly loved his job."