I was in the shower when the first plane hit. Then I went to my microbiology class and at this point no one in class really knew what was going on. Someone said something about 2 planes hitting the WTC, but for some reason no one really thought anything of it. I guess we all probably assumed it was little planes and that it was an accident. Then the department secretary came to relay a message to our professor, but apparently she had incorrect info because the prof came back in to tell us that the White House was on fire. So after class I went to work my shift at the campus switchboard, and there I finally learned what was really going on. I didn't have time to think about it till later because all I did for the next 2 hours was take calls from upset students and parents wanting to know if classes would be cancelled, or if they should go home. A lot of students were panicking because they were from the DC area and they couldn't get in touch with their parents. I'll never forget one idiot who called and asked if the college was closing. I said no, we were staying open as usual... and he said "Well what if they attack here?" Ok, really, Longwood University is this tiny little school that a lot of people have never heard of, but of course it's the logical location for a terrorist attack!
So after I got off work I spent the rest of the day in the chapter room with my sisters watching the news. The school didn't officially cancel classes, but most of the professors decided to cancel their own classes. I did go to micro lab that afternoon but the prof just sent us home early.
I didn't personally know any of the victims, but one of my sorority sisters lost her mom and her stepdad... they had just gotten married and were on their honeymoon, on their way to Hawaii, so they were on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon. This sister had graduated a year or so before, so most of us still in school didn't know her but it was amazing how we all came together to do something for her.