Winning Morris Plains 8th grade essay: ‘What Makes a Hero’

From the Morris Plains Democratic Committee:

This year’s recipient of our $250 Paul Bangiola Good Citizen Award is Eve Nazarian. Below is how she answered our essay question: “Choose a well known hero…or an everyday person, and tell how they show heroism in their daily lives. Discuss the small acts of courage and kindness that have a big impact and the qualities that make someone a role model.”

By Eve Nazarian

The Medal of Honor is the highest military award a person can receive. Its recipients have been nationally recognized for their bravery and courage, but it’s only ever been presented to one extraordinary woman. That woman’s name was Mary Edwards Walker. She was an indispensable female surgeon, a prisoner of war, a suffragist, and a suspected spy during the United States Civil War. Mary Edwards Walker was a hero because she demonstrated incredible perseverance, extreme bravery, and an undying drive to help those in need.

Walker was born in Oswego, NY, on Nov. 26, 1832. She was raised by progressive parents for their time, and had six brothers and sisters. She and her siblings were raised to “question everything.” Walker grew up often wearing male clothing because it made it easier to work on her family’s farm. She was never the sort of person to conform to female standards. Although there were many obstacles along the way (as a result of rampant sexism), Walker eventually graduated from Syracuse College (in New York) with a medical degree in 1855.

Her refusal to quit, even among the ostracization of her peers, is an excellent example of Walker’s perseverance, even in her early years. After graduating, she married Albert Miller, but refused to take his name. She even wore a short skirt and trousers to their wedding instead of a traditional dress. They eventually divorced 10 years later. Walker continued to face sexism in her life, mainly due to her career as a doctor and her tendency to wear almost exclusively male clothing.

At the dawn of the Civil War, Dr. Walker went to Washington seeking to join the Union Army. She was denied a job as a medical officer, but Dr. Walker wouldn’t let that stop her from joining the Union Army. She signed up as an unpaid volunteer. These actions demonstrate how determined Dr. Walker was to aid her country and the wounded soldiers she knew she could help. In 1863, she finally became the first female U.S. Army Surgeon after fighting for pay and an official title for months, once again demonstrating her incredible perseverance.

Dr. Walker was assigned to the 52nd Ohio infantry regiment. Once there, she routinely denied her own personal safety by crossing lines to treat critically injured civilians. During these trips, she showcased many of her heroic qualities, such as extreme bravery and an innate desire to help others.

However, on a mission to aid troops past enemy lines in 1864, she was caught by Confederate troops and arrested for spying. Her time as a prisoner of war illustrates incredibly well how brave Dr. Walker truly was. She was detained for four months and suffered muscular atrophy but was eventually released during a prisoner exchange. Dr. Walker spent the rest of her military service at the Louisville Women’s Prison Hospital and an orphanage in Clarksville, Tenn.

Following the end of the Civil War, a bill was signed by then-President Andrew Johnson on Nov. 11, 1865. This bill allowed Dr. Walker to be presented with the Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service. She wore it constantly, even when it was temporarily stripped from her, due to government actions in 1916 and 1917. Dr. Walker spent the rest of her life as a suffragist and feminist, fighting for the expansion of voting rights for all people, but especially for women. She was arrested several times for wearing men’s clothing, and famously said, I don’t wear men’s clothes, I wear my own clothes.”

Additionally, Dr. Walker published two books, Hit (1871) and Unmasked, or The Science of Immorality (1878). In 1871, she attempted to register to vote, and in 1912 and 1914, she bravely testified in front of Congress to support women’s suffrage. As can
be seen, she continued to persevere against sexism throughout her life and also continued to bravely face the consequences of her then-radical (and often illegal) actions.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker died in her home on Feb. 21, 1919, and was buried in a black suit, according to her own wishes. She died just one year, 5 months, and 28 days from when the 19th amendment was added to the Constitution, allowing women to vote. More than half a century after her death, Dr. Walker’s Medal of Honor was re-awarded to her in 1977.

Overall, Walker was a hero because she demonstrated incredible perseverance, extreme bravery, and an undying drive to help those in need throughout her life. She was a beloved role model, an important war surgeon, an instrumental suffrage activist, and the first and only female recipient of the Medal of Honor. Her actions advance women’s rights to this day, and her legacy continues to be upheld every time another woman gets her doctor’s license to be a surgeon or practices the right to vote.

Works Cited:

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Mary Edwards Walker. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 17 Feb. 2025.

National Park Service. Dr. Mary Edwards Walker. U.S. Department of the Interior.

Eve Nazarian is honored to have been selected as a winner of the Democratic Essay Contest. An avid reader, Eve also enjoys creative and persuasive writing. She likes hiking, and being out in nature. This summer, Eve looks forward to paddle boarding on Lake Pleasant in Speculator, NY, where she will be attending Tapawingo Girls Camp, a ministry of Camp of the Woods; and preparing for the B’nai Mitzvah she will share with her brother. She is excited to be acting in the Summer Theater Recreation Program because it combines her love of dramatization, and the chance to be a role model for younger children in town. In fact, she just completed her Silver Award through the Girl Scouts, volunteering to teach preschoolers environmental studies at the Morris Plains Co-op. Eve will be attending Morristown High School in the fall, where she will be in the STEM Academy.