From the age of five, nothing could stop Catherine Granado from playing hockey. As she grew, so did her love and skill for the sport; so much so that she skated her way to the Olympics in 1998 and brought home the Gold Medal. Cammi Granado attended Province College, where she played on the school’s hockey team. She became the best player on the team, leading them to two national championships and being the European Civil Aviation Conference player of the year for three consecutive years. In 1990, she was accepted onto the first United States national women’s hockey team, and became that team’s leading goal scorer with thirty goals in twenty-five games.
Heather Whitestone McCallum, more widely known as the first Miss Deaf America, was born on February 24, 1973 in Alabama. Today she lives in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, has four children and is married to John McCallum. She is an author of three different books, the most popular being Believing the Promise: Daily Devotions for Following Your Dreams, in which she talks about her motivation. At the age of eighteen months old, Heather was diagnosed with the Haemophilus influenza virus and a dangerously high fever that caused her to lose her hearing.
Henrietta Lacks was born as Loretta Pleasants on August 1st, 1920 in Roanoke, Virginia, She lived with her mother for 4 years until her mother died in 1924 for unknown reasons. After the death, she moved to her grandfather log cabin, which was a former slave quarter for their ancestors. There she met her cousin David “Day” Lacks. In 1935, the two cousins had a child, his name was Lawrence. A few years later they had another child by the name of Elise.
Martin Van Buren said that the two happiest days of his life were his entrance into the office of President and his surrender of the office. While his political opponents were glad to see him go—they nicknamed him “Martin Van Ruin”—many Americans were not. Even though he lost the 1840 presidential election, Van Buren received 40,000 more votes than he had in his 1836 victory. In subsequent years, historians have come to regard Van Buren as integral to the development of the American political system. Van Buren was the first President not born a British subject, or even of British ancestry.
Sonia Obutch was around 17 when the Holocaust began. Her mother, siblings and about 14 other people traveled with her to the place where they joined a group that the Jews made to hide and stay safe at. In the same article that was used for the other two quotes, was this quote, “Her father was sent out to raid farms and villages for food. Her mother worked as a cook, making hearty soups with potatoes and meat.” This quote shows what could be shown as Sonia’s mother and father were both busy and were trying their best to take care of their kids, but also Sonia was there to help them with whatever they needed.
Irena and ten other people together went into the ghetto on their rescue mission. There were many means used to save the children. One of the ways they used to rescue them was using an ambulances, hiding them under the stretchers. Another means Irena used was smuggling the children through secret underground passages and sewer pipes to get out of the ghetto. They also used trunks, sacks, suitcases, and boxes to carry the children out.
Liane Reifs’ life was crutally changed by the Holocaust and Hitler’s plan to wipe out all the Jewish. Why did the Holocaust happen? Why didn’t anyone stop Hitler from carrying out his plan? Well, because not many people asked Hitler to stop, so nothing happened (Ayer, Eleanor H. #11). Liane Reif was a Holocaust warrior.
Kalief Browder was only 16 when he was sent to Rikers Island, one of the cruelest juvenile prisons in the nation, for being accused of stealing a backpack but with no evidence to support. He spent around two years in solitary confinement which drove him to attempt suicide many times. He was abused every day by inmates and prison guards for no reason at all. In his three years he was waiting for a trial which should not have taken longer than six months to complete. His mother spoke out to the public, waiting for his justice to be repaid every day and for her sons return.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.
Ruby Bridges was best known for the first African-American student to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. Ruby was brave, because she stood up to the angry people outside her school. She was kind, because she prayed for the people who were yelling at her. Ruby displayed bravery even though she is deserted, jeopardized, and were surrounded by numerous racist people.
In 1939, the Germans started to invade Warsaw and when they did Irena began helping the Jews by offering them shelter and food. Knowing the consequences, "Irena Sendler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identities" ("Irena Sendler"). With this quote, Irena had to secretly hide children to be saved. She would take them in groups of as many as 25 at one time. Yes, Irena was a big part of the rescue, but she also had help from associates.
Thesis Statement about theme of literary work- In Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, expressions of love and hatred are shown in multiple mother-daughter relationships resulting in negative impacts such as pain, bitterness, and regret because of their differing opinions. Support Point #1- Suyuan Woo guiltily leaves her twin daughters on the ground in China as she walks away in tears.
What is a hero? According to Google, a hero is “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” (Google.com). Many will agree Miep Gies fits this description; an article written about her gives her the title “Hero of the Holocaust” (Legacy.com). She’s a hero because she protected some of the people targeted by the Nazis, preserved the diary of a girl known all over the world, and continued to spread hope and encouragement for the rest of her life.
Contemporary outlooks on child abuse can be traced to the early 1960s, when developments in radiological equipment made it easier for physicians to detect any sorts of maltreatment. But oftentimes parents who mistreat their kids do not go to physicians, rather they just cover up signs of abuse in the comfort of their home. That was the case of Dennis Jurgens, a three year old boy who was abused and murdered by his adopted parents in White Bear Lake Minnesota in 1965. Since the discovery of this case, the course of adoption process, child safety and security, and people’s attitude towards child abuse has changed to some degree. Interfering in other people’s family affair was seen as rude and inappropriate.
