Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes:
Alice Seeley Harris
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Competition
unsung hero (n) : one who has created positive change in history by improving the lives of others, but has yet to be recognized for his or her actions
The Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes encourages students to highlight individuals who have demonstrated immense courage and compassion in the past and are yet to receive the recognition they deserve.
The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) was founded by businessman and philanthropist Lowell Milken. Norm Conrad from Uniontown High School in Kansas was awarded the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Norm now resides as the Executive Director of LMC and his former student Megan Felt is the Program Director.
In 1999, Megan’s class created a project to tell the story of Irena Sendler, a woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. However, there was little information on Irena and no commendation for her great bravery. Megan and her team members performed a play called "Life in a Jar". During their research for the project, the students found that Irena was still alive in Poland, and the students went to visit her. Irena’s story has spread since then and she was nominated in 2007 for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Inspired by the play "Life in a Jar", Lowell approached Norm and his high school students to collaborate on an organization to bring more heroes, like Irena Sendler, to light. In 2007, the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes was officially founded. It was decided that the center would reside in Fort Scott, Kansas.
The Unsung Hero competition encourages Project-Based Learning. Students research their heroes through primary or secondary sources while gaining educational and professional skills. Also, students learn to think critically and work as part of a team. Students then create plays, films, websites, museum exhibitions and more.
Students achieve a level of comprehension and understanding beyond any comparable activity when endeavoring to complete an Unsung Heroes project. In addition, what the student learns is retained because of the impact this activity has had on them on a personal level. The Unsung Hero project work transcends the schoolhouse walls.
Chris Waugaman, Journalism Teacher at Prince George High School (VA) & 2012 LMC Fellow
