Rajagopal Sundaram

There are types of heroes. Some are heroes because of one act in their lifetime and some are heroes because of continuous acts of courage and a step in a more developed world. Rajagopal Sundaram is the latter type. Some heroes aren’t necessarily famous or have one great feat to please people by but are a hero nonetheless. There are many heroes in the world and let’s go over one.

Rajagopal Sundaram was born into a low middle-class family in India in the 1940s. His father was a teacher in a local school and was very strict on how they operate. Rajagopal would often be interested in maths and how buildings were made. He was a very good student. After doing well in high school he wanted to pursue engineering especially, as he was fascinated by it. In that time college at high level schools like MIT in the U.S. was highly unlikely for people who lived there, but he was determined to continue his studies.

Rajagopal Sundaram completed high school and then made his applications for MIT and other universities. To get a chance there he needed a scholarship as he couldn’t afford to go with the support of only him and his family. He eventually got accepted and got a scholarship from the Indian Government to go to MIT. He went there to study architecture and structural engineering to get his master's and PhD. He wisely saved up money and did his studies there. He eventually got his master's degree.

Rajagopal Sundaram had his master's degree and started working on his PhD. The year was coming to an end, he had another year to work on his PhD. Suddenly before the school year began the government for no good reason cut his scholarship, which meant he needed to move back as he couldn’t afford it, which also meant he couldn’t get his PhD. He went back home and decided to partner with a friend to create Sundaram Architects, where they pioneered shell structures, which was a new invention they made for a better and more cost-effective way to build concrete structures in India. He got an award on structural engineering similar to a Nobel prize for this. Later on Sundaram Architects became his only and he was successful.

Rajagopal Sundaram shows he is a hero because of confidence, courage and willingness to learn. Due to his inventions and willingness even when his motivation was down, he managed to pioneer something new for the world. This is why I think he is a hero.