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 1999. 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. 11th ed., s.v. “hero.”
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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] 2005. Memphis: Danny’s Promise; [cited 2006 Sept 15]
Available from:www.stjude.org/about-st-jude
3
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital[internet] 2004. Memphis: Danny’s Dream; [cited 2006 Sept 15]
Available from:www.stjude.org/about-st-jude
2
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] 2003. Memphis: Thomas Family; [cited 2006 Sept 15]
Available from:www.stjude.org/Celebrities
5
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital[internet] 2005. Memphis: Danny’s All About Marlo Thomas; [cited
2006 Sept 15] Available from:www.stjude.org/celebrities
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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] 2005. Memphis: Danny’s All About Marlo Thomas; [cited
2006 Sept 15] Available from:www.stjude.org/Celebrities
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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 16th, 2006.
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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] 2004. Memphis: Patient of the Month, Ben Bowen; [cited
2006 Sept 15] Available from:www.stjude.org/kids
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