However, Mowdy and dozens of other bombing survivors, family members and rescue workers shared their experiences from April 19, 1995, with students in schools across Oklahoma on Wednesday.
"It was so loud and so intense I didn't know what happened," Mowdy told the children in Shanda Bontempi's Norman classroom. "I just knew everything in that room changed dramatically."
Mowdy was in the Journal Record Building fixing a cup of tea when the bomb went off across the parking lot -- just outside the window where she stood. The day was her third at work for the Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan program.
Mowdy's treatment included 1,000 stitches. She showed students the scars on her arms.
Mowdy and Oklahoma City fire Battalion Chief Larry Hansen talked about the bombing with 19 second-graders at Norman's Jefferson Elementary.
"I didn't feel much physical pain," Mowdy said. "I tried to stay alert and help the people helping me by telling them my name and staying awake to talk."
Hansen reminded students about the need to speak up if they know someone has plans to do something wrong. He said others knew about Timothy McVeigh's plans before the bombing, and someone could have come forward before the tragedy.
"If you ever know somebody is going to do something bad, tell someone," Hansen said.
Carol Beranek was at her eighth-floor desk in the Murrah Building when she heard a popping noise. Within seconds, small pieces of the building hit the left side of her face, and she was thrown against her desk.
"I really thought it was an atomic blast and that was the end of my life," she told students at Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Midwest City.
Beranek looked up, saw the blue sky and heard co-workers in her U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development office yelling for help. They walked out and sat on a curb near NW 4 and Robinson -- Beranek's face was covered with a black sweater to stop the bleeding.
She remembers medical personnel loading her into a hotel van and taking her to Southwest Medical Center, where she had 126 stitches.
Beranek's office was on the building's west end. Much later, she saw the damage to the north side.
"I'm thankful God spared my life," Beranek said. "I guess he wasn't finished with me here on earth, and I hope I can always keep in mind there's something here for me to do."
In Edmond, firefighters who helped with rescue efforts spoke with students at Cheyenne Middle School. Driver Adam Smith and Capt. Bob Billen showed photos of the bombing site and talked about digging through the rubble, trying to find survivors.
Although every anniversary of the bombing has been difficult for victims' families, survivors and rescue workers, the resolve and hope that's grown in these people in the past decade have made things a little easier, said Deb Ferrell-Lynn, a trustee of the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Ferrell-Lynn, whose cousin Susan Ferrell died in the bombing, showed a film to the students that featured parts of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.
Kari Watkins, the memorial's executive director, said the school visits were intended to give students the chance to hear stories of hope and survival while learning about the impact of violence.
Contributing: Beth Gollob and State Correspondent Becky Tiernan.
