I know how I felt when this happened, but it is still so hard to this day to write and express what i felt. Communicating such emotions is incredibly difficult and at times, not enough words can describe what happened. To those who suffered the most, and for the rest of us who were somehow impacted, i believe there's opportunity to heal. I've always felt passionate about memorials because they're spaces that are most personal to the experience of those who visit them. As a young architecture student, I worked in a few memorial competitions because i believed this was what i was most passionate about and how i could use architecture to improve the lives of others. By the time I got to graduate school, i was presented with an unfortunate opportunity. October 1st happened and the one way i could best help my community was with the help of architecture. As time has passed, i have dedicated my time in teaching to improve my skills and research human centric design. Whether it is through the use of emotions, our stories, and our experiences, my goal has been to hopefully one day help design something that'll bring a positive impact to all of us.

Pat Dalton Amico is a survivor of the Route 91 shooting. Pat and his wife not only attended the concert but assisted other survivors that night, including getting ten (10) people into their truck to find medical attention and safety. Many of the people he helped have called him a hero, but he feels he just did the right thing.

Pat, being a singer and songwriter, thought he could do more to help! Pat wrote two (2) songs, 58 Angels and Forever Family, memorializing the victims and honoring those lost that night, who are known as Angels. Both of those songs Pat utilized to help raise money for the victims and to help heal everyone affected by the tragedy. 58 Angels and Forever Family, quickly became the songs with which many survivors and angel families identify. One of the Angel mothers, who only speaks Spanish, reached out to Pat to sing 58 Angels at a memorial dedication for her son. Pat was told she has listened to his song everyday and can sing it word for word. Pat had her sing right next to him on stage at a tribute event for her son.  Additionally, Pat has attended heavenly birthday events for that Angel and sang for the family at each one. Pat has assisted in raising over $100K for the Angel family’s and victims. He has performed the songs at each of the four (4) annual Route 91 memorial concerts, tribute events, fundraising concerts and for Angel families personally. Pat oversaw and funded the creation and production of a musical compilation containing Pat’s original songs plus those of other artists touched by the tragedy. In addition to selling thousands of copies of the CD, Pat made available the song 58 Angels to download and streaming services, donating all proceeds from those sales, downloads and streams to Route 91 charities that directly aided the victims.

Pat calls the route 91 survivor and Angel family’s his family.  So many of the family’s have traveled to visit Pat and and his wife, Colli, at their home in Las Vegas and numerous family members of those he helped that night in his truck have reached out to thank them. A young woman who had been shot and her fiancé were two of those people in Pat’s truck that night. Realizing that she needed immediate medical attention, Pat swerved toward an ambulance, resulting in the EMT’s stopping and transferring the injured woman for transport to the hospital. Months later, after finally discovering the identities of the young woman and fiancé who were helped to the ambulance, Pat and his wife were invited to their wedding and remain close friends with them to this day.

The Route 91 community is a second family to Pat and his wife, just as Pat’s Forever Family song says.