Essay Contest Winners

2021-2022

First Place – $10,000 Scholarship

Sabrina Morera — Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy (Doral, Fla.)

Second Place – $5,000 Scholarship

Jessica Atkins — Mother of Divine Grace School (Ojai, Calif.)

Third Place – (3) $1,000 Scholarships

Zoe Leatherwood — Arlington High School (Arlington, Tenn.)

Benjamin Heim — Lenox Memorial High School (Lenox, Mass.)

Max Abubucker — Towson High School (Towson, Md.)

Runners-Up – (4) $500 Scholarships

Eleanor Israel — Home Life Academy (Jackson, Tenn.)

Nick Odle — Homeschool (Rochester, N.Y.)

Josh Mason — Greater Atlanta Christian School (Norcross, Ga.)

Christopher Danner — Red Lion Area Senior High School (Red Lion, Pa.)

Archive

2020-2021

First Place – $10,000 Scholarship

Maxwell Kearney – Westlake High School, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Second Place – $5,000 Scholarship

Sami Al-Asady – Ironwood High School, Glendale, Ariz.

Third Place – (3) $1,000 Scholarships

Salome Augusto – Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn, Va.

Jenna Smith – Kent Place School, Scotch Plains, N.J.

Margaret Ludwig – Mat-Su Career and Technical High School, Wasilla, Alaska

Runners-Up – (4) $500 Scholarships

Olivia Rodgers – Quincy Senior High School, Quincy, Ill.

Deepa Rao – James Madison High School, Vienna, Va.

Lily Cain – Northwestern High School, Poplar, Wis.

Anjana Peddireddi – Centerville High School, Dayton, Ohio

2019-2020

First Place – $10,000 Scholarship Prize

Alyssa Noseworthy – Nathan Hale High School, West Allis, Wis

Second Place – $5,000 Scholarship Prize

Kayla Host – Weatherford High School, Weatherford, Texas

Third Place – (3) $1,000 Scholarship Prizes

Forrest Cooley – Homeschooled, Warrenton, Ore.

Emily Boyett – Du Quoin High School, Du Quoin, Ill.

Simran Bhardwaj – La Cueva High School, Albuquerque, N.M.

Runners-Up – (4) $500 Scholarship Prizes

Beth Wegener – Homeschooled, Cascade, Idaho

Sydney Householder – The Prout School, Saunderstown, R.I.

Katia Sergeeva – Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta, Ga.

Keegan Priest – Buchanan High School, Clovis, Calif.

2018-2019

First Place – $10,000 Scholarship Prize

Jeshelle Hofland – Homeschooled, Lamont, Mich.

Second Place – $5,000 Scholarship Prize

Michael Morgan – duPont Manual High School, Louisville, Ky.

Third Place – (3) $1,000 Scholarship Prizes

Michelle Wei – Desert Vista High School, Phoenix, Ariz.

Evelyn Crowe – Concordia High School, Georgetown, Texas

Elena Olvera – Pioneer High School, Woodland, Calif.

Runners-Up – (4) $500 Scholarship Prizes

Victoria Ferguson – Fort Davis High School, Fort Davis, Texas

Emma Sawyer – Homeschooled, Yulee, Fla.

Eric Chang – Harnett Central High School, Lillington, N.C.

Ian Olson – The Bush School, Seattle, Wash.

2017-2018

First Place – $10,000 Scholarship Prize

Shelby Tone – Tone Academy (homeschool) – Stoughton, Wis.

Second Place – $5,000 Scholarship Prize

Robyn Anzulis – South Carroll High School – Woodbine, Md.

Third Place – (3) $1,000 Scholarship Prizes

Luke Sorensen – Marana High School – Tucson, Ariz.

Bhargavi Garimella – Leland High School – San Jose, Calif.

Daniel Garcia – Aliso Niguel High School – Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Runners-Up – (4) $500 Scholarship Prizes

Alison Rubin – Davis Senior High School – Davis, Calif.

Sarah Duncan – McKinney High School – McKinney, Texas

William Zhuang – Blue Valley Northwest High School – Overland Park, Kan.

Kaitlyn Hardwick – Russell County High School – Russell Springs, Ky.

2014

First Place: "America is The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.But…Are its Universities?" by Arianna Samet

Second Place: "Untitled" (PDF) by Anna Mitchell

Third Place: "Untitled" by Emily Snell

Third Place: "Student Censorship and Academic Growth: A Paradox in Higher Education" by Hadi Kateb

Third Place: "Free Speech: An Inextricable Part of Higher Education" by Mahishan Gnanaseharan

2013

First Place: "**** **** ***** *****" by Kanitta Kulprathipanja

Second Place: "The Necessity of Debate" by Isabella Penola

Third Place: "Free Speech: The Cornerstone of Civic Empowerment" by Justin Hunsaker

Third Place: "Untitled" by James D.E. Ellwanger

Third Place: "College and University Censorship of Student Speech Undermines America's Future" by Emily Cox

2012

First Place: "The Audacity of Independent Thought" by Mark Gimelstein

Second Place: "What Can I Say?: Free Speech on College Campuses" by Nora Faris

Third Place: "Free Speech's Importance on Campus" by Alexandra Crum

Third Place: "Censorship is Not Education" by Hannah Dent

Third Place: "Education as Conversation" by Asheshananda Rambachan

Drawing Winners: Clayton Hammonds, Jr; Minhi Kang; Hannah Rasmussen; and Brian Shouse.

2011

First Place: "Civil Liberties in Academia" by Vincent Kelley

Second Place: "That We May Think What We Like—Or Not At All" by Rachel Anderson

Runner Up: "The Right to a Free Mind" by Matthew Abel

Runner Up: "Freedom of Speech: The Basis for Higher Education" by Katherine Gerton

Runner Up: "Free Speech is Integral to Higher Education" by Blaire Landon

Runner Up: "Freedom of Speech on College Campuses" by Michael Munther

Runner Up: "Keeping the Marketplace of Ideas Open in Schools" by Zachary Trama

2010

First Place: "Freedoms and Education," by Kristen Kelly Lemaster

Second Place: "Freedom of Expression in Higher Education," by Mollyanne Gibson

Runner Up: "A Uniform Graduating Class," by Abigail Averil

Runner Up: "Tolerating Intellectual Free Will," by Zach Beims

Runner Up: "Oppression of Innovation," by Miriam Leigh Creach

Runner Up: "Tyranny vs. Progress," by Adam Spangler

Runner Up: "Wanted: Free Speech on American Campuses," by Jackson Wilson

2009

First Place: "Educational Institutions or Re-education Camps?" by Nathaniel Cornelius

Second Place (Tie): "In Clear and Present Danger: The State of Personal Liberty in America's Universities," by Andrew David King

Second Place (Tie): "Losing the Marketplace of Ideas," by Eric Podolsky

Runner Up: "Higher Education-or Total Indoctrination?" by Rachel Helmstetter

Runner Up: "The Lighting of a Fire," by Erin Kahn

Runner Up: "Say What We Say...Think What We Think," by Rachel Ochoa

Runner Up: "The Freedom of All Freedoms," by Morgan Turner

Runner Up: "On the Consequences of Oppressing Free Speech," by Danielle Wogulis