Jack Andraka: Heroism in the Youth

Jack Andraka, Inventor (XPRIZE Foundation, Wikimedia Commons)Cell by cell, he watched as the man he considered an uncle faded away. A late diagnosis left Andraka with nothing to do but mourn over the inevitable death. Born in 1997, Jack Andraka faced a brutal awakening at the age of 14 when he lost his close family friend to cancer. He entered into the world of “grown-up” science and forced himself into that mix in order to fix what the adults failed to do properly. His past experience in science competitions and the passing of his family’s close friend are what encouraged him to pursue a path in cancer detection, with the influence of other youths motivating him to work hard to become someone important in science. Andraka commonly found himself in a lab throughout his journey, possibly even more than in school or at home. This was where he was free to try out anything he could dream up and where he would devote himself to finding a way to detect cancer early (Tucker). Heroes are people that sacrifice themselves for the greater good and have the determination to stay on course in order to benefit society. They improve the lives of others and never stray from their ultimate goal. Jack Andraka’s will to help save the lives of others and determination to develop a better way to detect cancer are what make him a hero.

During his teenage years, Jack Andraka devoted his whole being towards helping others be safe from the pain he felt from losing loved-ones to cancer. Through his efforts to develop a test to detect pre-cancer for a cheap price, Andraka knew he would be able to save countless people and beat the 2% survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients: “‘I couldn't save my friend who died of pancreatic cancer, but I hope I've discovered something that means other families won't have to face similar struggles’”(Daugherty). Andraka’s intentions have always been to help limit the pain he felt from spreading to others. Rather than letting the death of his family friend make him bitter and closed off, he put his efforts towards helping others avoid his situation. He understood how hard losing someone can be and wanted to help reduce the death rate of pancreatic cancer. In making a test that would diagnose infected people early, he would be able to provide hope to countless people. Andraka’s intense dedication to his project is what made it possible for “[t]he test [to] [detect] mesothelin in artificial samples” and for it to “[pinpoint] mesothelin in the blood of mice bearing human pancreatic tumors”, meaning that he would be able to use the test on humans not much later (Tucker). With the kind of technology Andraka was developing, he made sure that each test was accurate for the user. He also made sure that the test was cheap enough that anyone could afford to check for cancer in their system. By allowing people to learn of their illness early, he gave them a better chance at survival. Early diagnosis enables doctors to prevent tumor spread, which could save the lives of many. In knowing that he can make a difference in the lives of others, Andraka devoted himself to his work, even if it meant sacrificing his own livelihood: “In September, Andraka attended high school so infrequently that a few teachers thought he'd dropped out. "But I don't want to quit high school," he says. "High school is fun--some-times." Occasionally he wishes that he had more time for it, and kid stuff in general” (Tucker). Despite his wish to be a normal teen, Andraka puts his own desires to the side so that he can create a device to make saving the lives of countless people less of a fool’s errand. As a mere child, he was able to see a need and deliver for the greater good, showing true heroism through the self-sacrifice that results from his strong desire to help others. Andraka’s desire to help save others from the trauma of cancer as well as the determination he had while creating his test is what makes him a true hero in the world.

Despite all the hardships he faced, Andraka reached his goal as a result of his dedication to his project. As a youth, Andraka experienced many difficulties that were reason enough to give up for a majority of people, and yet, even when constantly hearing words of doubt from family and friends, he said, “My uncle had died. I faced years of bullying and depression. This was what I had. I was not about to give up now” (Andraka, Lysiak 3). Even when it seemed as though the world was crashing down around him, he kept on fighting and kept faith in himself. He wasn’t willing to surrender no matter what told him otherwise. Despite having to deal with his life unraveling around him, he hung on and continued to work through the pain as he was unwilling to relinquish hold of his dream. Instead of letting these tragic events drag him down, he allowed them to motivate him to make the detection test he knew people needed. Along with the issues faced while developing his cancer test, Andraka also faced countless challenges in attempting to receive all the resources he required: “Building and testing his idea would require professional lab space, so Andraka developed a budget, materials list, timeline, and procedure and sent it to 200 researchers. After 199 rejections, one lab director at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said yes” (Daugherty). Despite facing constant challenges, Andraka never let anything stop him from improving his invention until it reached perfection. When others would give up, Andraka continued to fight against all odds. Unlike the expectations held for a child in adolescence, Andraka kept hold of his motivation to keep working for the greater good. He knew that his invention could mean the world to countless people and never gave up on his journey to creating his cancer detection test. Andraka shows the necessary determination to gain the title of hero.

The determination Jack Andraka showed towards developing his invention and towards helping others are not only what makes him a hero, but an inspiration as well. Andraka devoted his life towards creating his cancer detection test despite all the trauma he went through so that he could save others from feeling his pain. Even after the countless challenges he faced during this process, he continued on his path. Despite his young age, he pushed through and never let himself give up on his creation. Being so young and managing to accomplish this great feat while having to endure bullying over his sexuality, depression, and deal with giving up his normal life as a teenager is what makes him a true inspiration. Andraka didn’t listen to all the signs telling him to give up and spreads that message of hope to others, letting them know that they can make a difference in this world: “Most of all I tell people, "If a 15-year-old, who didn't even know what a pancreas was, could create a new way to detect cancer using the Internet ... just imagine what you can do"” (Swartz). Not only does he work hard to help others, but he also encourages others to do the same. Andraka sees his story as a way to show others all the good they can contribute for the sake of society. He wants to break the idea that it takes someone especially skilled to make a great innovation or to solve a monumental issue. As a youth, he wants to encourage other young people to start searching for flaws in the modern day and to fix these errors. As a teenager that thoroughly enjoys science, I find myself intrigued by his story and how he willed himself to continue on his journey despite all odds. He shows the potential each person has to make a difference and that is what makes him an inspiration to me. Andraka shows that no matter the circumstances, be it age, hardships, or lack of faith, anyone on this earth can make a difference. His mission to start changing the world and show others that they can do the same is what makes Jack Andraka both a hero and an inspiration.

Works Cited

Andraka, Jack, and Matthew Lysiak. Breakthrough: How One Teen Innovator Is Changing the World. HarperCollins, 2015.

Daugherty, Susan. “Teen Inventor Sets His Sights on New Tests for Cancer, Pollution.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 2 Feb. 2017, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141221-andraka-emerging-explorer-inventor-cancer-profile/.

Swartz, Clay. "Life Scout Jack Andraka first appeared in Boys' Life in January 2012 after creating an environmental biosensor that detected water pollution." Boys' Life, Mar. 2014, p. 12. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A360357754/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=7ad4e5e5. Accessed 15 Jan. 2019.

Tucker, Abigail. "The prodigy: a Maryland high-school sophomore who reads science journals for fun may have invented a new diagnostic test for a deadly form of cancer." Smithsonian, Dec. 2012, p. 68+. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A319615378/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=8748a8b9. Accessed 14 Jan. 2019.