Oops! We had to remove the hero profile you’re looking for because it will soon appear in our new book Heroic Leadership: An Influence Taxonomy of 100 Exceptional Individuals, to be published by Routledge in 2013.
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— Scott Allison and George Goethals
This is a truly heart wrenching story to hear about. Of course no one would ever wish for this tragedy to have happened but while it can be hard to tell at times, it’s truly amazing all the good that has come from this horrible crash. The out pour of love and kindness that was given to Christa McAuliffe’s family after the crash, not only from her students but complete strangers as well, shows how truly heroic she was and how much of a difference she made on the world. It’s often said that being a teacher is one of the most difficult jobs to have and it’s obvious that Christa was one in a million. It’s truly devastating that her life was cut short but she will forever be remembered as a hero in the mind’s of many who was always willing to help others and improve the lives of many.
I definitely have a flashbulb memory of Challenger. I was sitting at my computer at St. Margaret’s Hospital and someone stuck her head in the door and said, “The Space Shuttle blew up.” I wondered what that meant; I figured there must have been an explosion on the pad. I hoped that nobody had been hurt and that the Shuttle wasn’t seriously damaged.
No Internet in those days, so I had to go down the hall to the mail room to see if there was anything on the radio. I was dumbstruck by the news, literally couldn’t believe it. For hours I held out hope that the astronauts would somehow be found safe. When I got home and saw the video, I knew it was hopeless.
Christa McAuliffe is definitely a hero. She devoted her life to inspiring people, and her untimely death has continued to inspire.
Stories like this are so hard to read, and I was not even alive to experience this moment in real life. I do definitely remember when I heard about September 11th though. McAuliffe’s story is so terribly tragic because she had become a true national hero. She was living every child’s dream of going into space and I can only imagine all the people who knew her were glued to the TV that day. She must have been an outstanding individual by the way she stood out to a prestigious organization as NASA. We love the story of someone’s dreams coming true, of making someone a national hero, but we are absolutely devastated when that hero we have built up is killed.
The image placed upon astronauts in society remains heroic and heroic thanks to people like McAuliffe. Children in the United States idolize astronauts for their physical strength, intelligence and ability to go where few dream of going. This gut-wrenching story truly pulls at the reader’s emotions and proves to be one of heroic qualities. Although McAuliffe died tragically, this only adds to her heroic qualities. We often talk of the tragic end to a hero and this example is no exception.