I chose Martin A. Couney for my Unsung Hero project. I chose him because he contributed to keeping newborn babies alive with his invention of incubators. When I grow up, I want to work in medicine as a doctor or a surgeon, so I found his story really touching and inspiring. 

Martin’s character traits are selflessness and generosity. He was born in 1870 to a German-Jewish family. When he had just turned 19, he decided to emigrate to the United states. He was very interested in medicine and wanted to help people. When his daughter was born 6 weeks premature and only weighed 3 pounds, this flipped a switch in him. He created the incubator so that babies like his daughter could survive being premature. He used his previous science education and knowledge to help with the invention of the incubator. 

Martin set up an exhibition in Coney Island where he had many babies in incubators and people would come and pay to look at them. I made a representation of the exhibit he had where he saved thousands of babies. My project shows Martin’s selflessness and generosity, because he is hosting the babies for free, and without his kindness they probably wouldn’t have survived. I used a draft board for the base and the incubators. After I glued everything together, I painted them and then added the tiles and the clay babies. 

My Unsung Hero’s story influenced my outlook on life because instead of just doing things for myself or my friends, I now realize that I should help and be kind to everyone in my community and everywhere I go. I hope my artwork can inspire others to also do the right thing.