Maria Mitchell

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A 29 year old girl stared out in the vast black space scattered with white dots, every night looking through her small telescope, hoping to find something miraculous. One night, as she looked out for fun, she saw something shoot through the sky. Excitedly, she got out her notebook to look at her calculations to see if she was right. Indeed, it was a comet! Looking down at her journal and back at the telescope, she calls for her dad, delighted to explain about her discovery. Maria Mitchell was then known as the first female astronomer to ever discover a comet. Mitchell was born in 1818 in Nantucket, Massachusetts to Lydia and William Mitchell. She discovered a comet in 1847 through a small telescope. Because of her discovery, she was the first woman to get a membership for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She got a gold medal from the King of Denmark and in 1850 she got another membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science ("Maria Mitchell").  Not only was she the first woman to get those memberships and discover a comet, she also gave some of her time to help women fight for their freedom. A hero must possess achievements, have dedication to a lot of things and should be influential. They must have accomplishments that made them a hero, and like Maria Mitchell, they should also have dedication to their work and to the people around them. She devoted some time to her work and some to the women while fighting for women's rights. But heroes should also be influential, showing people how to become like them, how to help others or even become important to the society.  Maria Mitchell is a hero because she obtains the qualities of a hero, having achievements, dedication of her time to her work and the women fighting for their rights and also being influential to many.

Some of Maria Mitchell's achievements, such as discovering a comet and being cofounder of an association, are the reasons that she is a hero. As the article, "Women of the Hall" states, Maria Mitchell, "... received a gold medal from the King of Denmark for her accomplishment, as well as a membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the first woman to achieve this honor"("Women of the Hall"). One of her achievements was discovering a comet. Because of that achievement, she received a gold medal from the King of Denmark, which marked her accomplishments. Mitchell was the first woman to receive the membership in American Academy of Arts and Sciences, which showed people how women could also make achievements that could last forever. She showed how women would need to stand up for what they believe and if they try hard enough to go towards their goal, they will be able to achieve it. As the article, "Maria Mitchell and Women's Rights" stated, Maria Mitchell also was one of the founders of, "...the American Association for the Advancement of Women."("Maria Mitchell and Women's Rights"). She stood for women's rights and believed that women could also do the same things as men. She strongly believed that women could make a big impact of the future research in math and science. By founding the association for the women, it showed how she achieved her goal to help women be an important role in science. By achieving her goals, Maria Mitchell became a hero for both women and men in the field of science.

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After Maria Mitchell was displayed as the first woman to discover a comet, she became influential to her students and to many other scientists. As the Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography explains, Maria Mitchell encouraged her female students to, "...think of themselves as professional women"("Maria Mitchell."). Mitchell believed that if women believed themselves as professional astronomers, then they could do better in their research. She thought that if they thought highly of themselves, then they would believe more in themselves to do greater things. She taught her students to think as if they were real astronomers finding new stellar objects. It was her desire to teach women to become interested in science and that is how she influenced people to be in the field of science. Because she influenced many of her students, many of them had gone on to: "...to become noted astronomers themselves."("Maria Mitchell"). Mitchell took her students to labs to calculate distances of stars, comets and many more stellar objects. She motivated her students to be in the field of astronomy, and helped them believe that they could become an astronomer. She taught them that anyone who believes in themselves can achieve their goals. Maria Mitchell influenced many of her students to go into the field of astronomy. She helped people believe in themselves to become what they want to become.

Maria Mitchell dedicated her time for helping women to stand up for their rights. Mitchell was helpful: "...in the struggle for equality in professions and reforms in education and health issues for women" ("Maria Mitchell"). She gave some of her time to become an advocate during the women's right movement for she believed that women should be able to stand up for what they believe in. She wanted women to have their freedom and was inspirational to many students for she taught her students to think themselves as professionals so they could do better in research. Maria Mitchell not only helped women get influenced in astronomy, but she also: "... devoted a great deal of time to finding ways for women everywhere to gain greater freedom and have their rights recognized in society."("Maria Mitchell and Women's Rights"). She dedicated a great part of her time to help the women to get their freedom in research. Mitchell believed that many should get recognized for their part in life. She wanted women to get their credit in life for being a huge help in research and wanted to allow the world to hear women's voice. Maria Mitchell was a significant person during the women's struggles to let the world hear women's thoughts and their voice. Maria Mitchell has been helpful to the society by giving a portion of her time to help the women to raise their voice and let the world hear their thoughts and ideas.

Maria Mitchell is portrayed as a hero for how she accomplished her achievements, the way she dedicated her time, and how she was influential to many people. Since Maria Mitchell was the first woman to discover a comet, it inspired women to become interested in science and future discoveries. She helped women during the suffrage standing up and showing how women should stand up for things they believe in. As Scientists: Their Lives and Works stated, "A number of her [Maria Mitchell's] students went on to become noted astronomers themselves." ("Maria Mitchell."). A copious number of students took her advice and became scientists and helped in the future researches. She inspired her students to become successful and to achieve things that they believed were right. Maria Mitchell inspired me because she showed me how anyone can accomplish anything if they try hard and have faith in themselves. The way she stood up for women's rights and how she was the first woman to discover a comet shows how it is possible for someone to accomplish anything. This is why Maria Mitchell is my hero. Heroes are supposed to achieve great things which they will be remembered for: they do great deeds, help people, and influence them to do greater things in the future.

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