**Ben+Carson**

Dr. Ben Carson is important to me because he has achieved what I hope for all of my students. Dr. Carson learned to read well enough that he could do anything in the world he choose to do. He is a world famous brain surgeon and an encourager of children to read. Dr. Carson was born into a bad situation. His mother was illiterate and his father left when he was eight. He could have given up and become a nobody. Instead he began to read books. He read two books a week and wrote reports on those books which he turned into his mother. Even though his mother could not read, she put a big check on top and encouraged him to keep up the good work. Dr. Carson says that reading saved him.

Dr. Carson went on to graduate from Yale University with a degree in Psychology. He attended medical school at the University of Michigan and is now the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, a world famous hospital.

Dr. Carson has earned numerous awards including the highest honor that can be awarded to a civilian, "The Presidential Medal of Freedom". He has earned these awards for his work in and out of the hospital. If I could pick one thing that impresses me most about Dr. Carson, it would be his literacy initiatives for young students in our country. Dr. Carson has established reading rooms were students can go and read for fun. He also gives Carson Scholarships to students across our nation for outstanding achievement in school.

Dr. Carson is an American hero.

Sources: www.achievement.org, http://wjz.com, http://usnews.com