What is a Hero? The Webster s dictionary definition of hero is a man of distinguished valor or

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "What is a Hero? The Webster s dictionary definition of hero is a man of distinguished valor or"

Bruce Marshall
5 years ago
Views:

1 What is a Hero? The Webster s dictionary definition of hero is a man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; a great or illustrious person. 1 My personal definition of a hero is someone who is inspiring and selfless, a person that goes out of their way to change someone else s life. People do not have to be famous or rich or even recognized as a hero to be a hero. I believe that if you make a difference in someone s life by simply being a part of it, then you are classified as a hero. One thing almost every hero follows, whether it s a super hero or a person from every day life, is a code of ethics. Ethics is the process of making decisions and a code of ethics is standards that all of society accepts and live by when making decision. A hero must be ethical and make the right decisions. Being ethical is part of being a hero because if you make the right decisions then everyone you effect will trust you and respect you for what you are doing for them. There are many people that I consider heroic and many people that have effected and changed my life just because they have been a part of making me into the person that I am today. It is hard to name everyone that I have considered heroic in my lifetime but there are three people that very recently have come into my life and changed the way I look at the world around me. For the past four years I have been a member of Delta Delta Delta, one of the top Greek organizations here on campus. My sorority has been in a partnership with St. Jude Children s Research Hospital since Because of this partnership, we have been raising money for the hospital ever since and I have come to found a very influential person that I consider to be a hero. Danny Thomas is the founder of St. Jude Children s 1 Merriam-Webster s Collegiate Dictionary. 11 th ed., s.v. hero. 1

2 Research Hospital, and he not only touched my life, but he touches the lives of thousands upon thousands of people a day. Danny founded St. Jude Children s Research Hospital because he believed that no child should ever die in the dawn of life. 2 In 1955, Thomas and a group of Memphis businessmen who had agreed to help support his dream seized on the idea of creating a unique research hospital devoted to curing catastrophic diseases in children. More than just a treatment facility, this would be a research center for the children of the world. In the years building up to the opening of the hospital, Danny Thomas, accompied by his wife, traveled across the nations telling anyone and everyone about his dream and asking for donations to help make his dream a reality. 1 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital, opened its doors in 1962 and is now recognized as one of the world s premier centers for study and treatment of catastrophic diseases in children. 3 Focusing on pediatric leukemia s, solid tumor forms of cancer, infectious diseases and biomedical research, during its first decade of existence, the hospital s curative therapies and research successes spread its fame worldwide and helped save the lives of innumerable children everywhere. 1 Because Danny Thomas had a dream, and the determination to pursue and fight to make that dream a reality, hundreds of thousands of kids lives are saved every day because of the research findings at St. Jude. The main reason I feel that Danny Thomas is a hero is because he sacrificed a lot to make the hospital. He traveled the country asking for help, and, at one point, he visited 28 cities in only 32 days. 1 He is a hero to me because his work and his life story helped me to realize 2 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Danny s Promise; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 3 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Danny s Dream; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 2

3 that no dream is ever to big to accomplish if you have the determination and passion to pursue it. His conviction, dedication, sacrifice and perseverance has taught me to never give up because you never know who s lives or how many lives you can affect and change simply by fulfilling your own dream and following your own passion. Another person that I look up to and consider a hero is Marlo Thomas. Marlo Thomas is Danny Thomas daughter and she has taken after her father with a passion for the kids of St. Jude Children s Research Hospital. Marlo serves as the National Outreach Director for St. Jude and hosts numerous television shows and benefits that help to bring in millions of dollars for the hospital. 4 One reason I look up to her is because she is accomplishing what I wish to accomplish in my lifetime. I want to make a difference in people s lives and I recently realized that it would be my dream to work and raise money for St. Jude. I know that working for St. Jude, I would be making a difference in thousands of lives. I also believe that, like her father, Marlo is a hero. One trait of a hero that Marlo possesses is loyalty. A hero must be a loyal person, a person who will stand by what they believe in and can be counted on to never turn their back on anything or anyone that is counting on them. Marlo grew up watching her father live his dream. She has been devoted to the hospital for most of her life, never once feeling the need to turn away. And when her father passed away in 1991, Marlo, along with her siblings, made it her mission to make sure her father s dream did not die away simply because he was no longer living. 5 Marlo is the driving force in fulfilling her father s mission and remaining loyal to her father and the dream he had makes her a champion because not everyone 4 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Thomas Family; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 5 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Danny s All About Marlo Thomas; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 3

4 would spend their life helping carry on their fathers dreams and aspirations, sacrificing their own. Another trait that Marlo possesses that I believe classifies her as a hero is her dedication to the children and to the hospital it self. Marlo, along with her brother and sister, hosts the annual Runway for Life Celebrity Fashion Show in Hollywood, which raises $1 million a year for St. Jude and attracts many of Hollywood s brightest stars. Marlo attends events around the country to promote St. Jude with corporations, individual donors and other celebrities. She has been actively involved in solidifying support for St. Jude with such partners as Target Stores, Northwest Airlines and the Wall Street community, and was responsible for bringing more than 100 of corporate America s top executives and business leaders to St. Jude for a day of innovative thinking, including Ann Moore, CEO of Time Inc., and Barry Diller of USA Interactive. 6 She is obviously very dedicated to the work she does for the hospital. This summer I had the privilege of visiting St. Jude Children s Research Hospital and met many of the patients of the hospital. One of the patients in particular moved me in a way that I never expected to be, let alone by a child. Carlos was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when he was four years old. He told me about everything that we had to go through to fight and win his battle with cancer and today, at thirteen years old, Carlos is cancer free. Thankfully, today Carlos is just like any other thirteen year old boy, but one thing is different. Carlos has more conviction, gratitude, and determination out of any person I have ever met in my entire life. When you ask a kid what they hope for their future, most will say that they hope to be successful, to go to college, or to be famous for something. Carlos, on the other hand, says he doesn t think 6 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Danny s All About Marlo Thomas; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 4

5 much about his future. He said, I know everything is going to be ok because I put my faith and trust in God and I know that what ever God has in store for me is what I will do. 7 Another thing that touched me when I was talking to Carlos is that he knows who I am and what I do for the hospital. Of course, he didn t know my name before we met, but he knew my sorority. When he saw the three deltas on my shirt, he knew that my sorority raises money to help the kids of St. Jude. And without even knowing me, the first thing he said to me was thank you. One of the main reasons I consider Carlos a hero is because he motivated me to change my life. Since joining my sorority, I ve helped my chapter raise money for St. Jude, but most of the time it was because I had to, not because I had a strong desire to. But going to the hospital and meeting the kids we helped made me realize that I do impact these children s lives everyday that I raise money for them. I never thought these kids would make such an impact on my life as they did that weekend. Carlos made me realize a lot of things about myself. Carlos had a passion that I ve never encountered before and he made me want to be passionate about something. He also showed me what it means to have conviction and also that things change when you care enough to give it everything. There are many reasons that Carlos, and all the kids of St. Jude are hero s to me. The main reason is because of their courage and audacity, I now have more passion to raise money and get the word out about St. Jude than I ever have before. And Carlos is a hero to me because he helped me to realize that I want to make a difference in peoples lives just as he has made a difference in mine and I feel that one of the aspects of a hero is someone who makes a difference in someone else s life. One of the St. Jude patients parents put it best when he was asked about what he learned from the kids of St. Jude, specifically, his son, Ben. "I have learned so much from him," Tom said 7 Carlos. Interviewed by Emily Coey. June 16 th,

6 about watching his son battle cancer. "I am a fireman. I was very involved in the World Trade Center recovery and a lot of people termed a lot of us heroes. I look at that and realize we chose to walk into that and to do the work that we do. These kids aren't in that situation. They didn't choose this. It's given to them without any option. And they just step up and do what they have to do and always with a smile and with a will and determination. And I think that's a hero." 8 I believe that the children at St. Jude are heros to many different people, but my personal hero is and always will be Carlos. Because of his conviction, his devotion, and his gratitude, I will always take with me what he has taught me about changing peoples lives and I will always strive to affect people s lives the way he affected mine. Ever since I was a child, I have been asked the question, Who s your hero? Undoubtedly, my answer has changed hundreds of time. From super man to my mom, my heroes have always been the people who are there for me no matter what, supporting me and telling me that I can do anything I dream of doing. It s hard for me to talk about my heroes because I have so many to choose from. I am lucky that I have so many people in my life that help me every day. Danny Thomas, Marlo Thomas, and Carlos are three people that I consider heroes and they will always stand out in my mind as very special people. I will always strive to have their conviction, devotion, perseverance, and determination so hopefully one day I can be a hero in someone else s eyes, just like they are in mine. 8 St. Jude Children s Research Hospital[internet] Memphis: Patient of the Month, Ben Bowen; [cited 2006 Sept 15] Available from: 6

Remarks by Donald C. Winter Secretary of the Navy Night of Heroes Gala Ritz-Carlton Tyson s Corner McLean, Virginia Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Remarks by Donald C. Winter Secretary of the Navy Night of Heroes Gala Ritz-Carlton Tyson s Corner McLean, Virginia Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Barney Barnum, Daniel and Debra Dunham, Mr. Scott, Mr. Mitchell,