{"id":22279,"date":"2017-11-03T12:22:52","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T16:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=22279"},"modified":"2024-07-02T16:37:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T16:37:03","slug":"finding-strength-creative-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=22279","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Finding strength through creative means\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The night before an exam his first year at Carolina, Jack Davis was just looking for a place to study near his dorm room. Everything was closed, except the UNC Children\u2019s Hospital, where he found a spot for his late-night study session.<\/p>\n

Davis was interrupted by a young patient who wanted to draw in Davis\u2019 notebook. After scribbling in Davis\u2019 notebook, the child wished Davis luck on his upcoming exam and left.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a really kind, precious gesture that struck a chord with me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It was the boost of motivation Davis needed at just the right time.<\/p>\n

Now, Davis, a political science major, is returning that support and encouragement to the patients of the UNC Children\u2019s Hospital as the founder of the\u00a0Superhero Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Superhero
Superhero Project graphics director Lahari Pullakhandam sketches a superhero in the Undergraduate Library. The student organization aims to empower UNC Childrens Hopsital patients to be strong when they feel weak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Formed last year, the Superhero Project is a student organization that pairs UNC Children\u2019s Hospital patients with Carolina students and local artists to create superheroes modeled after the children. The initiative is designed to empower them to be strong when they feel weak.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody is in a place of sickness, and a place of weakness, there is this sense that you\u2019ve lost agency in your life and you\u2019re not in control of your own life,\u201d said Davis, the project\u2019s executive director. \u201cArt has a really neat way of reminding you that you can put on a mark on a page, that you do have agency, and that you can forge your own path and you do have strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s goal, Davis said, is to help the young patients build strength through creative outlets. With that mission, superheroes became a natural fit for the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur whole organization runs around the idea of strength and finding strength through creative means,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just felt like a superhero could help us teach that, illustrate that, in a really unique way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of the ability to fly or lift a building, the project\u2019s characters are kind, brave and positive \u2014 the same traits that make the patients superheroes in their own right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take these characteristics that are often overshadowed and try to elevate them to make them feel like those are superpowers in and of themselves,\u201d said Sarah Lundgren,\u00a0a junior majoring in\u00a0media and journalism and history, as well as the group\u2019s publishing director.<\/p>\n

The Superhero Project promotes its message with a coloring book made specifically for the UNC Children\u2019s Hospital patients. The book highlights the exploits and powers of superheroes like Captain Courage, President Positivity and King Kindness.<\/p>\n

At the end of the book, there\u2019s a place for the patients to write about themselves and their own superpowers. The Superhero Project\u2019s graphics team uses that information to design new characters that draw the children into superheroes that ultimately end up in a professionally designed comic book.<\/p>\n

While promoting those positive traits, the coloring book and drawings give the patients a break from their reality for a brief period of time and act like any other kid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a lot on their minds and are forced to be more adult than they need to be,\u201d said Lahari Pullakhandam, computer science major and cognitive science minor, and the organization\u2019s graphics director. \u201cTo give them a chance to really tap into their fun and childish side is important. Being in the hospital can weigh on your mind. That escape is necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Brandon Bieltz, University Communications<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jack Davis, a political science major, created the Superhero Project last year to pair UNC Children\u2019s Hospital patients with Carolina students and local artists to create superheroes modeled after the children. The initiative is designed to empower them to be strong when they feel 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