Who’s your hero?

This past weekend, while I was sticking to indoor activities as Mother Nature reminded us just how cold she could make it go outside (-44C/-47F with wind chill), I came across something in Todd Fulginiti’s blog called Who’s on Your Hero List. That grabbed my attention.  Who is on my list of heroes? This question required some thought. We should want to be prodded to think about who our heroes are, right?  And why!

If you look up (google) heroes, you get a lot of past military leaders and inspirational leaders, like – rightly – Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Gandhi.  Not to mention superheroes, of course! But heroes don’t have to be world famous people, although that’s a perfectly good starting point.  Your hero might be someone who’s made a difference in your life, who perhaps inspired you or gave you the confidence to be the person you never thought you could be, or who, by their own actions, inspired you to take a path in life you hadn’t considered.  Your heroes might include musicians, writers, actors, activists, teachers, or caregivers.  On any given day your hero might be a friend or family member who’s been there in your time of need – or indecision.  You can have many heroes for many reasons.  What makes someone a hero for you?  What is it about them that you admire most?

It dawned on me that the first hero I ever had was Marie Curie.  When I was a kid I loved reading a series of books for young readers about famous people in history.  I remember reading about Garibaldi and the Red Shirts, Paul Revere, and others, but I didn’t give any thought to them being heroes.  I must have been about 10 when I read the book about Marie Curie.  I admit that I was drawn to that fact that she was a Curie and I was a Currie (when I was a kid) – almost the same thing.  What really got me, though, was that she was a woman and she became a famous scientist way back in the 1890s.  Her personal story was riveting to me as a young girl: her courage in leaving her home in Poland to make a new life; her determination in getting her education and then pursuing her research, all against all odds; the enthralling love story of Marie and her husband (and partner in science) Pierre; Pierre’s tragic death in a street accident; and, her well-deserved recognition with multiple Nobel Prizes, astonishing even more for a woman back when most universities didn’t even let women enroll.

She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person and the only woman to win a Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two scientific fields (chemistry and physics).  Her husband, Pierre Curie, was a co-winner of her first Nobel Prize, making them the first-ever married couple to win the Nobel Prize. She was, in 1906, the first woman to become a professor at the University of Paris.  Her daughter went on to win a Nobel Prize as well.  No author could make up a story as inspiring as the real life and accomplishments of Marie Curie.  My first hero was a good choice!

Marie Curie in her lab, circa 1900

I can think of a few other famous people who I would have put on my hero list over these many years; Eleanor Roosevelt, the suffragettes in several countries, and of course civil rights heroes and heroines throughout many years all come to mind.  Jane Goodall might be there as well. And, more recently, Greta Thunberg for sure.

For me, current heroes in our troubled world, people who are showing the rest of the world what real courage means, are the people of Ukraine, fighting Putin to keep their country sovereign and free, and the women (and their male supporters) in Iran and Afghanistan, protesting against their brutal regimes for basic human rights for women despite the possibility of imprisonment or even death.

But I can stay close to home and find heroes just as easily.  They are all around us, people who lead through their actions, who walk the talk with courage and resolve.  I have written about some of these people in past blog posts.

It turns out that the people high on my hometown hero list are people who step up to the plate in tackling our many complex social justice needs, employing innovative ideas, leadership skills, patience, determination, a can-do attitude, and s great deal of empathy.  Here are a few:

• Fredericton’s Community Health Clinic serves our most vulnerable population, mostly people homeless or in the shelters, and at the same time provides experiential learning opportunities for our local university’s (UNB) nursing students. This downtown model of integrated healthcare and learning was brought to fruition through the vision, dedication, and determination of a group of professors from UNB’s Faculty of Nursing: Grace Getty, Marg Dykeman, Kathleen Cruttenden, Pat Davidson, Cheryl Gibson, Elaine Kenyon, Judy MacIntosh, Pat Seaman, and Judith Wuest.  They are all heroes.
• All the people who work in various capacities to find AND IMPLEMENT solutions to the complex problems of homelessness. In my town this includes many, many people, including volunteers and staff at the shelters, and particularly leaders like Warren Maddox, Jason Lejeune, and Marcel Lebrun (the initiator of the Tiny Homes development, giving homeless people a home and hope).  They are all heroes.
• PLATO Testing is a locally-based software testing company whose work is national in scope. Since 2015, thanks to the vision of company founder Keith McIntosh and his courage in pursuing his vision of providing new employment opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, PLATO has recruited and trained Indigenous Canadians across Canada to become software testers, with guaranteed employment at the conclusion of the training program. Keith’s innovative model has been taken up by several provinces, First Nations, and businesses across Canada; its realization has made a significant difference to its participants.  Keith is on my hero list.
• Randy Dickinson is on my hero list. Randy sets the standard for being a relentless advocate for people living with disabilities, but relentless in the most pleasant of ways. Pleasant, but still doggedly effective at getting the message across and then following through to make sure things happen, all from his wheelchair.  He’s been successful in raising awareness of the importance of accessibility and inclusion for all, everywhere. His efforts have made and continue to make a significant difference to our many fellow citizens living with disabilities.
• Gurdeep Pandher and Monte Peters are on my hero list. Gurdeep Pandher spreads joy and hope to everyone he encounters, both in his travels from his home in the Yukon and through the Internet.  It is his mission in life – to spread joy to all through Bhangra dancing and positivity – and he excels at it.  Monte Peters was a beloved Catholic priest in our town (and, no, I’m not Catholic) who also excelled at spreading joy, tolerance, inclusion, and humour far and wide in our community.  Such a special man.  He is greatly missed.  We need more Gurdeeps and Montes.

Gurdeep Pandher sowing seeds of joy through his Bhangra dancing.

I can go on with my personal list, but hopefully you get the drift of the exercise.  Personally, I have found it a gratifying experience to stop and think about who might be on my hero list, once I discovered I should have one (Thanks, Todd).  What about you? Who’s on your hero list?!