Kris Socha

Kris Socha (center) with me and my Brother (Anna Socha)

My father Kris Socha was born on March 7th, in Koszalin, Poland. After living his childhood and early adulthood in Poland, he moved to Canada to get a better life for himself and his family. He is now married to Anna Socha, and has two kids (me and my brother). Kris Socha now lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and works as a computer engineer. He clearly is a hero, because of his many important traits, which include determination, caring, persistence, and leadership. Over his life, he commenced many heroic acts, which would appear impossible to some people to accomplish.

Poland's Location (Google)

Kris Socha's most obvious heroic trait is his caring for my family and me. The greatest thing he ever did to me was giving me a good place to live. He spent his childhood in Poland, under poor living conditions. Under the Communist government, there was little freedom to make choices, a shortage of just about everything, lack of access to information, and little chance of success if you were not a member of the Communist party. After getting married to my mother, Kris Socha wanted to leave Poland, at all costs. He wanted to make sure that his still unborn children (including me) did not have to endure what he did. The problem was that the government was not going to let them leave. In the end, he and my mother managed to find a loophole in passport regulations, and then came to Canada in 1991 using a self-sponsoring program. His care didn't stop after the escape. In Canada he tried (and succeeded) in getting a good job in computer engineering, in which he got a university degree back in Poland. With a good job, our family got all the money we needed, and we never got into financial trouble. All this shows that Kris is very caring and selfless. All he has ever wanted to do is to make our family happier.

Kris Socha, at Springhaven (Peter Socha)

Kris Socha has also shown a great amount of determination throughout his life. Determination is a trait that all heroes must have. Heroes do wonderful things or the world, but how can they do these things if they don't make an effort towards them, and stick to their goals? Kris Socha has always been determined, and has never considered failure to be an option. He never stopped trying to leave Poland and come to Canada, despite the many difficulties that he had to face, such as problems with passport regulations. He was always determined to get my family a good life in Canada too. Kris kept on trying to get a job; despite the rejections he often suffered due to his lack of experience in working in Canada. He stuck to his goal, ended up succeeding, and our family had a good supply of money. At work, he never gives up either, and remains always willing to try and try again. He clearly believes in the quote I once heard that says "Most of the greatest things were done by people who kept on going when there appeared to be no hope at all." Kris Socha's determination has done great things for him and his family.

Kris Socha, on a Business Trip in Geneva

Kris is also hard working, which is a very important trait in a hero. At work, he has worked long and hard to make sure that the company in which he works is successful and to get himself a good reputation at work. He certainly would not have been promoted so many times if he weren't hard working. I have seen Kris work very long hours at the company, come home, and then commence a conference call or two. In Poland, he had to think hours after hours to find a way to escape Poland and come to Canada; escaping was no easy task. Kris Socha obviously believes that with hard work and effort, you can accomplish anything that's possible.

Kris Socha, on his 45th Birthday (Peter Socha)

Another positive and heroic trait that Kris has shown is good leadership. He has always led my family well. I cannot recall him making any obviously absurd choices. At work, he gets many leadership opportunities, since he is in a senior position within the company in which he works (vice-president of software). At home, he has lots of ideas, and is always willing to share them. For instance, when someone is bored or doesn't know what to do with their time, he will make many suggestions. Having initiative like that is important for a leader, as a leader can't just be a person who simply says, "I don't know." Back in Poland, it was him who had the initiative to set an impossible-looking goal for him and his wife. That goal had been to leave Poland in any way possible. Kris Socha is clearly a born leader, and he is always willing to use his skills when they are needed.

It is very unlikely that Kris Socha is going to stop being a hero anytime soon. He will always find new opportunities to excel and succeed both at work and in family life. He still has a great amount of ambition in everything he does. Kris is the type of person who always needs a new and tough challenge. If he can't find such a challenge, he will continue trying. He has barely changed during the whole 13 years I've known him, so it is unlikely that he will make a big change soon, and even less likely that such a change will involve him losing his heroic qualities. Kris Socha was and will always remain a heroic man.

As you can see, Kris Socha is certainly a great hero. He possesses the traits and mentality required to do wonderful things that help others. He has all of the essential traits, which include caring, determination, perseverance, persistence, and leadership. Kris is the type of person who would take action on any problem, instead of waiting for others to solve problems for him, or simply accepting defeat. His life so far has been a tremendous success: he managed to escape from Poland and move to an entirely new country, and still managed to become successful even by Canada's standards. It is clear that he will remain successful for a long time to come.