Unsung Hero

Purpose:

To promote positive role models in the lives of students

To empower students to stand up for what they believe is right

To create a personal work of art based on students’ interpretation of an Unsung Heros’ character and actions;

To reflect on your experiences by writing an impact paper that articulates your personal journey and interprets their work for the viewer.

For my Unsung Hero, I chose Kadambini Ganguly. She was the first Indian-educated woman to become a doctor of western medicine, and was also a huge women's rights activist. I felt compelled and inspired to choose her as my unsung hero because of a couple things. To start, we share the same heritage; my grandparents are of Indian descent, and I find that in history, those with Indian heritage, let alone women with Indian heritage, do not get very much recognition, even if they have done extraordinary things like this woman. Medicine is a big part of my family, as both my dad and my mom are involved with medicine. My dad is a cardiac surgeon, and my mom was a nurse, and for as long as I can remember, they have both been passionate about saving people's lives and bringing happiness to their families. At times, my dad would even let me come into work on days where nothing life changing was happening and would let me "help out" as much as a child could do without endangering anyone while he was doing rounds. I also think it was so incredibly brave that she was able to become a doctor and a women's rights activist, especially in her time around the late 1800's where jobs for women and women's rights were few and far apart, and not particularly highly looked upon.

I learned a lot of things while working on this project, particularly when learning about all of the different heroes we chose. When we learn about history, we typically only learn about the people who stood at the forefront of society; the privileged, the men, and those sitting on top of the hierarchy. However, there are thousands upon thousands of people who have done incredible things who are not recognized for them. Learning about all of these different people was truly eye opening. It was shocking to see that these people, who we would not be where we are in society today without, are not strongly recognized. When making my final piece, it occurred to me how important it is to take the time to learn these peoples stories, and how important it is to share them through art. It is easy to read a paragraph about someone, but by creating and portraying them through an art piece, every single detail is deliberate and important to who they are as a person. It helps us to learn about the hero, but also teach others about them. It forces others to look and think about the piece and interpret these details. I learned how important it is to learn about these heroes and sing their stories through our art so that they are not forgotten and their accomplishments are seen.