How We Find Cosmic Heroes
The League of Extraordinary Advisors Selects First-Ever Winner
In late April, The Sidekick Collective’s advisory board, more commonly referred to as the League of Extraordinary Advisers or “the League,” convened for their first-ever meeting. To observers, this meeting of super-brains and super-hearts was not unlike Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk’s first meeting in The Avengers (notably without the fighting).
The League’s mission: select the world’s first-ever “Cosmic Hero.”
A Cosmic Hero is a real-world, start-up to early-stage superhero. This hero is a high school student who demonstrates the characteristics of our favorite comic book superheroes: courage, kindness, selflessness, commitment, creativity, and innovation. They may not be your valedictorian or football captain, but they most certainly have big ideas and a big heart.
These students - these Cosmic Heroes - are the answer to The Sidekick Collective’s mission: to identify and invest in the next generation of heroes.
So how do we find a Cosmic Hero?
Similar to the MacArthur Foundation Genius Award or Milken Educator Awards, Cosmic Hero winners are unable to apply for the award. Instead, without their knowledge, they must be nominated by one of 30 secret nominators across the state. Nominators are instructed to look beyond standard metrics, beyond the best grades, athletic feats, and even community service, to find the students who think a little differently, have a big heart, and possess a certain spark that makes you think they will one day change the world. Nominees are then thoroughly vetted by The Sidekick Collective team.
This is where the League comes in: they review, discuss, and debate all finalists’ qualifications. The League then makes a decision that will rock a student’s world.
This year, the League has made an extraordinary decision (perhaps unsurprising as they are the League of Extraordinary Advisers, but nonetheless exciting). Somewhere out there, there is a Cosmic Hero roaming the halls of a Washington State high school - he or she just doesn't know it yet.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the first-ever Cosmic Hero - coming soon to a school near you.
Founder of The Sidekick Collective. - Email