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• Youth & Education

Youth Scholarships

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $35,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.

Voice of Democracy

Established in 1947, our Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, download the  2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?"

About the 2023-2024 winner ...

Sophia Lin, a high school junior at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, was named the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Sophia's speech on the theme, "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?" won her a $35,000 college scholarship. Sophia was sponsored by Scottsdale VFW Post 3513. Watch as Sophia delivered her speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full Parade of Winners ceremony which was streamed live on Facebook, or see this year's complete list of winners .

Patriot's Pen

Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000! 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. Before submitting your essay,  download the 2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "My Voice in America's Democracy?"

Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, Ohio, was named the 2023-2024 Patriot's Pen first place winner. His essay on the theme, "How Are You Inspired by America?" won the national first place $5,000 award. Bryant was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary in Mansfield, Ohio.

Watch as Bryant delivered his winning essay during the VFW's Parade of Winners streamed live on Facebook, or read  his essay here.  See the complete list of 2024 national winners .

Youth Scholarships Additional Resources

2022-2023 VOD Winners

Voice of democracy entry form, voice of democracy national scholarship listing, 2022-2023 patriot's pen winners, patriot's pen entry form, patriot's pen national scholarship listing, sponsor a youth scholarship.

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Ashland student takes top prize in national VFW essay competition

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ASHLAND – The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has announced Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, has been selected the national first-place winner and recipient of a $5,000 award in its 2023-2024 Patriot’s Pen essay contest.

Day, who was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary located in Mansfield, wrote his winning essay based on this year’s theme, “How Are You Inspired by America?”

As the national first place winner, Day was presented with his award at the 2024 VFW Washington Conference during tonight’s Parade of Winners award ceremony in Washington, D.C., where  he delivered his winning essay  before conference attendees.

Since its inception nearly 30 years ago, the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen essay competition has helped foster patriotism by encouraging young minds to examine our nation’s history along with their own experiences in modern American society while improving their writing skills.

Open to eligible sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, the competition requires students to submit a 300- to 400-word essay expressing their views on a selected patriotic theme while competing for their share of nearly $1 million in awards and prizes.

Nearly 55,800 students participated in this year’s competition. Day  competed at the national level against 53 other state finalists vying for individual awards ranging from $500 to $5,000. The VFW awarded more than $55,000 in national awards this year.  View the full list of 2024 Patriot’s Pen National winners here .

Learn more about the Patriot’s Pen program here .

About Veterans of Foreign Wars

  The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation’s largest and oldest major war veterans organization.

Founded in 1899, the congressionally chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces.

With more than 1.4 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in nearly 6,000 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS” than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs.

For more information or to join, visit the website at  vfw.org .

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Youth Scholarship Contest Entries Due Oct. 31

Deadline approaches for voice of democracy and patriot’s pen.

Middle and high schoolers wanting to be part of VFW’s national scholarship contests need to finish their essays and apply for the Voice of Democracy or Patriot’s Pen by the end of October. The deadline is set for Oct. 31 at midnight.

Voice of Democracy is an audio essay. Participants are asked to make a recording and tell their thoughts in the democratic and patriot-themed essay. This year’s Voice of Democracy theme is: “What are the greatest attributes of our Democracy?”

For the national winner of the Patriot’s Pen contest, the middle school entrant receives $5,000. Patriot’s Pen is an essay competition open to students in grades 6-8, that encourages young minds to examine America’s history and modern society.

Patriot’s Pen requires students to draft a 300-400 word essay. This year’s Patriot’s Pen theme is: “How are you inspired by America?”

Students wanting to participate in the Voice of Democracy or Patriot’s Pen competitions need to contact their local VFW Post. For more information about the essay competitions, visit vfw.org/YouthScholarships .

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• Patriot’s Pen

2020-21 Patriot’s Pen Theme:

What is Patriotism to Me?

Student Entry Deadline: October 31, 2020 Patriotic Essay Writing Contest Grand Prize: $5,000 Award

Each year more than 132,000 students in grades 6-8 enter the VFW’s  Patriot’s Pen  youth essay contest. The national first-place winner wins $5,000 and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. The first-place winner from each state competes for national awards totaling $55,000, with each first-place state winner receiving a minimum of $500 at the national level.

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.

What is PATRIOT’S PEN?

Conducted nationwide, this VFW-sponsored youth essay competition gives students an opportunity to write essays expressing their views on an annual patriotic theme. We invite you to join the more than 120,000 students who participated last year in this contest. The national winners will receive at least $500. The first-place national award is currently $5,000 plus an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the winner and a parent or guardian. The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has again approved this contest for its National Advisory List of Contests and Activities .

Big National Prizes

National awards total: $55,000 Prizes include the various amounts listed below: 1st: $5,000 7th: $1,750 2nd:$4,000 8-10th: $1,500 3rd: $3,500 11-12th: $1,250 4th: $2,750 13-23th: $1,000 5th: $2,500 24-25th: $750 6th: $2,000 26-53th: $500 The Internal Revenue Service requires that any recipient that receives more than a $599 award should receive a Form 1099 identifying the proceeds as taxable.

Post 1760 Winning Prize: $150

How does the patriot’s pen contest work.

All entries begin at the Post level. The only exception is where schools/classes/ youth groups have large numbers of students and wish to conduct their own competition, submitting one winner for each 15 students to the local VFW Post competition. Individual students may submit their entry directly to the Post. This participating Post should be within your local area and within your U.S. state of residence. The contest consists of four levels. The first level (entry) is sponsored by local VFW Posts. Post winners advance, one for every 15 entries, to the VFW District (regional) level where the one first-place winner is advanced to the VFW Department (state) level. The one first-place winner at the Department level is then advanced into the VFW national competition. The winner from each Department (state) then competes for the national prizes.

Who can enter?

Patriot’s Pen is open to 6th-, 7th- and 8th-grade students enrolled by the Oct. 31 deadline in public, private or parochial schools in the U.S., its territories or its possessions. Home-schooled students also are eligible. Although U. S. citizenship is not required, students must be lawful U. S. permanent residents or have applied for permanent residence (the application which has not been denied) and intends to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law. Dependents of U.S. military or civilian personnel in overseas schools can participate too. (Foreign exchange students and former winners that placed in the National contest are excluded from the contest.)

How do I get started?

• Download the entry form here:  2020-21 Patriots Pen Student Entry Form and Brochure .
• Ask a teacher or youth group/club adult leader to supervise the Patriot’s Pen writing competition.
• Contact a local VFW Post within your local area within your state and indicate your interest in participating.
• Establish a contact person who is a member of that VFW Post or its Auxiliary.
• Make sure that your essay is submitted to the VFW Post before the contest deadline of Oct. 31, 2020. You can submit your essay and entry form electronically (by email) upon the Post’s approval. Entries sent to VFW National will be returned.

How am I judged?

You will be judged on how well you understand, develop and present the theme. A positive approach is recommended to express your viewpoint.

Knowledge of the theme is worth 30 points: You must show a thorough knowledge of the theme in your work. Demonstrate you have researched the issue extensively.

Theme development is worth 35 points: Answer all relevant facts about the theme such as the who, what, where, when and why. Relate the theme to your own experiences.

Clarity of ideas is worth 35 points: Write your essay in an easy-to-understand format. Leave your reader with a clear understanding of your explanation of the theme.

What is the theme?

VFW’s Commander-in-Chief annually chooses the year’s theme. The 2020-21 theme is, What is Patriotism to Me?

What are the rules?

• Essay length: 300-400 typewritten words. (+ or – 5 words max).
• You must write your own essay.
• All essays should be typed in English with no color or graphics and cannot be less than 300 words or greater than 400 words in length. (Essays under or over these word amounts will be eliminated.) Every word is counted regardless of length. The essay title (theme) or added footnotes do not contribute to the word count. At any time during the contest additional participant personal information (i.e. SSN, photo, etc.) could be requested by the VFW.

In no way may contestants identify themselves within their essay (including, but not limited to, your name, school, city, state, race or national origin.) Do not put your name on your essay. The entry form is your essay’s cover sheet. Secure the Official Student Entry Form with a staple or other fastener on top of your essay. Contestants are allowed to enter only once each year if otherwise eligible (one Post competition). Contestants found in violation of this rule will face elimination from the competition and will be required to return any and all prize money awarded or received.

The essay must be a contestant’s original work and a product of the contestant’s own thinking. The approach to the Patriot’s Pen theme should be positive and clearly focused. Poetry is not acceptable. Quotations may be used sparingly if plainly identified wherever used. A contestant’s teacher, counselor or parent may check the essay for punctuation, grammar and/or spelling, but the content must remain the contestant’s. Contestants will be judged on the basis of their essay alone and are not required to present the essay orally. All essays become the property of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The VFW retains non-exclusive rights to use your essay and likeness in the promotion and execution of the organization’s programs and activities.

Patriot’s Pen Deadline information

To qualify, all entries must be submitted to VFW Post 1760 (or a sponsoring local VFW Post) by midnight October 31, 2020 . Entries can be hand delivered or postal mail sent.

For more details on the competition you can contact our office or refer to the VFW National website .

About the 2019-20 winner …

Ruby Howe, a seventh grade student from Rochester Hills, Michigan, was named the 2019-20  Patriot’s Pen  first place winner. Her essay on the theme, “What Makes America Great,” won her a $5,000 award. Ruby was sponsored by VFW Post 334 in Lake Orion, Michigan.

Watch as Ruby delivered her winning essay , or see the  complete list of 2020 national winners .

Previous Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy News

2017 Voice of Democracy Winner Takes 3rd in State

The Department of Arizona Veterans of Foreign Wars & Auxiliary had their Rudolph A. Beckwar Memorial 2017 Voice of Democracy, Patriot’s Pen and Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet… READ»

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VFW YOUTH ESSAY CONTESTS

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) offer 3 Youth Essay Contests each year :  

                         ====================================================

  1)  the 2024-2025  Voice of Democracy (VOD)  Theme is:  

"IS AMERICA TODAY OUR FOREFATHER'S VISION?"

·      Deadline when it must have been received by our Post is: October 31, 2024

·      Total Awards:  $154,000

·       Top Individual National Award:  $30,000

VOD is for students who will be in  Grades 9-12.  This contest required the student to make a recording (thumb drive) and turn it in with a typed transcript. See the contest rules (links are below).  All entries submitted to VFW Post 3348 are judged by members of the Post. We pay smaller cash prizes down to 3rd place. There are 7 Posts in VFW District #2.  

The winning VOD entry (in District #2) is sent to the VFW Department of Washington (State). The student who originates the winning District #2 VOD entry is asked, along with   his/her parents, to attend our VFW Mid-Winter State  Conference  in Yakima in mid-January 2024; all expenses paid. At this Mid-Winter State  Conference , the VFW WA State winner is announced. 

District #2 honors the top 3 VOD submissions, from all 7 Posts in District #2, in early-January 2024, prior to the mid-winter State Conference. It is usually held at the Rainier VFW Post in south Seattle --- it is called our  "Ice Cream Social”  mainly because we provide free ice cream. This is a very popular event; students typically bring their entire family.

At our Ice Cream Social, each invited student is brought up on stage to sit with the other District winners. They are individually presented their award and are given the opportunity to read aloud their entry. I  am continually  blown away by the depth and beauty of what our youth write. 

Should the District #2 VOD winner also be the WA State winner, their entry is sent to National VFW. Only the student is allowed to go to Washington DC, all expenses paid, for the VFW National Convention in late July 2024. The student will be escorted to the VFW National Convention by both the WA State VFW Commander and the State VFW Auxiliary President. The student will join the VOD State winners from the other 49 States. 

Aside from attending the VFW National Convention, where the President of the United States is usually one of the speakers, the students are bused around to many of the sites in Washington D.C. From multiple reports, former VOD WA State winners report that this was a life-changing event for them.

                                                     =====================   

2)  The   2024-2025  Patriot’s Pen  theme is:

"MY VOICE IN AMERICA'S DEMOCRACY?"  

·       Deadline when it must have been received by our Post is: October 31, 2024

·       Total Awards:  $55,000  

·       Top Individual National Award:  $5,000

The   Patriot’s Pen contest is for students who will be in  Grades 6-8.  This contest calls for the student to submit a typed essay. See the contest rules (links are below).  The winning Patriot’s Pen entry in District #2 is sent to the VFW Department of Washington (State). State makes their own judgment. The 2023-2024 State winner of the Patriot's Pen contest is announced at the State Conference in Yakima in January 2024.

The top 3 Patriot’s Pen winners, from each of the 7 Posts in VFW District #2 are invited to the Ice Cream social (see above).

                            ===================

3)  The 2024-2025 WA State Youth Essay  theme is: 

"HOW SHOULD OUR VETERANS BE TREATED?"

    ·       Deadline when it must have been received by our Post is: October 31, 2024              

    ·        Grand Prize:  $100                          

The   WA State Youth Essay  contest is for students who will be in  Grades 3-5.  T his contest calls for the student to submit a typed essay; they are never more than two pages. See the contest rules (links are below).

The top 3 WA State Youth Essay winners, from each of the 7 Posts in VFW District #2 are invited to the Ice Cream social (see above). 

                         ====================================  

Links (below) are to the necessary forms that the student must complete, and for VOD a  thumb drive  with you reading your essay along with the  written   transcript.

When you are done,  submit everything that is required to:

            VFW Post 3348

           PO Box 55164

           Seattle, WA 98155      

For more information:

          - Trustee, Thom Fermstad  (425) 766-5987  -or-

          - Post Quartermaster, Chris Christophersen  (206) 362-1657 . 

Click on the Links below to see the Entry Forms.

·                    Voice of Democracy Rules and Entry Form

·                    Patriot's Pen Rules and Entry Form

·                   Youth Essay Rules and Entry Form

Address PO Box 55164 Seattle, WA 98155 Contact Us via Email Phone: 1 (425) 766-5987

Blackburn Aurora VFW Post 3348 meets on the 1st Wednesday of the month @ (6:30 pm) at the Acacia Memorial Park at 14951 Bothell Way NE, Shoreline, WA. We serve dinner (no charge) to our members before we hold our regular meeting.    The first Post Commander for Blackburn VFW Post 3348 was Frank Christiansen in 1934. The members of VFW Post 3348 built Blackburn Hall near the corner of NE 125th St & 15th Ave NE in Seattle. In 1972, Aurora VFW Post 2287 merged with us.  

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Winners of the VFW Essay Contests Announced

Community March 23, 2023 Staff 0

Connor Wiik took first place in the Voice of Democracy essay contest sponsored by Milbank VFW Post 3486 and VFW Auxiliary 3486. Alyssa Feather was the second-place winner. Lilly Dreis penned the third-place essay. “Why is the Veteran Important?” was the theme for 2023.

Wiik’s essay advanced to the district level with the potential to continue on to the state level. The state winner received an all-expenses paid trip to the national event in Washington, D.C. Scotland Stewart, a sophomore at Franklin County High School in Winchester, Tennessee, was selected as the national first-place winner and received a $35,000 scholarship. The second-place winner, Siri Corson, a junior at Fillmore Central High School in Harmony, Minnesota, was awarded the $21,000 Charles Kuralt Memorial Scholarship.

Addison Brown was the author of the winning essay in the local Patriot’s Pen contest designed for sixth through eighth graders. This year, students submitted essays on the theme “My Pledge to Our Veterans.”

Ryland Wendland earned second place. Andrew Karels was named third. All are seventh graders. Honorable mention awards went to Keaton Johnson, also a seventh grader, and Kylynn Schwandt, a sixth grader.

All of Milbank’s top essays in the Patriot’s Pen division advanced to the district competition. The district winners continued on to the state contest, and the state winner received an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C. Leighton Peters, a seventh grader from Rice lake, Wisconsin, was chosen as the national winner. She received a $5000 scholarship for her essay. The Patriot’s Pen second place winner, Nolan Green, of Monticello, Minnesota,  received a $4,000 award. 

Locally, the top three places in each of the contests received a medal, a certificate, and a monetary prize. Honorable mentions received a certificate and a monetary prize.

Established in 1947, the Voice of Democracy has been the Veterans of Foreign War’s (VFW’s) premier scholarship program. Students compete by writing and recording an audio essay on an annual patriotic theme. Nationally, over $2 million are awarded in educational scholarships and incentives through this program.  

Winners of the 2022-2023 Voice of Democracy for the Milbank area include: 1st Place:  Connor Wiik, 2nd Place: Alyssa Feather, 3rd Place: Lilly Dreis 

Winners of the 2022-2023 Patriot’s Pen for the Milbank area include:   1st Place: Addison Brown (7th grader), 2nd Place: Rylan Wendland (7th grader), 3rd Place:  Andrew Karels (7th grader), Honorable Mentions: Keaton Johnson (7th grader) and Kylynn Schwandt (6th grader)

Submitted Photos: Top- Connor Wiik and Lilly Dreis. Bottom Photo-back row left to right, Keaton Johnson, Kylynn Schwandt. Front row, Addison Brown, Rylan Wendland and Andrew Karels.

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PATRIOTS PEN ESSAY CONTEST

2023-2024 Theme

"How Are You Inspired by America?"

Student Entry Deadline: October 31, 2023

Patriotic Essay Competition Grand Prize: $5,000 Award

Patriot Pen Entry Form

Patriot Pen Awards List

Patriot Pen Score Sheet

Patriot Pen District Report

VFW SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

At the turn of the 20th century, the founders of the Veterans of Foreign Wars created an organization that would honor and serve veterans and perpetuate the values and ideals for which those veterans had served.  Although men of vision, it is doubtful they could imagine the millions of Americans impacted today by the VFW’s youth, scholarship and recognition programs. Every year, tens of thousands of students nationwide participate in the Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition and the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest, garnering more than $3.2 million in scholarships, awards, and incentives.

Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest 

Patriot’s Pen gives 6th, 7th and 8th grade students the opportunity to express their opinion on a patriotic theme and improve their writing skills, while they compete for awards and prizes. Cumulatively, the awards provided from all levels of the competition are around $1.2 million each year. Each first place Department (state) winner competes for $46,000 in award money at the national level with the first place winner receiving $5,000 and a trip to Washington, DC in March.

The deadlines for the Patriot’s Pen essay contest are:

• Midnight, October 31 ,  Entries to the Post *
• November 15, Entries received at your District
• December 7, Entries received at Department
• December  7 , Districts report on post participation, received at the department 

Post entries are required to include the following:

Typed essay in English of 300-400 words (no graphics) and a student entry form completed legibly. All words must be counted.

Address 1285BaringBlvd.#184 SparksNevada89434 Contact Us via Email Phone: 775-544-8786

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Students show patriotism with VFW contests

Published 10:12 am Tuesday, April 2, 2024

By Mike Barnhardt

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8719 of Advance held the Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy essay competitions for Davie students.

Students can compete at Post, District, State and National levels to win cash prizes and scholarships. The state winner also receives an all-expense paid trip for two to Washington, D.C. to be honored at the VFW and Auxiliary Conference.

Students from grades 6-8 compete in the Patriot’s Pen essay contest by writing a 300-400 word essay. This year’s theme was “How are you inspired by America?”

High school students from grades 9-12 compete in the Voice of Democracy by writing and then recording a 3-5 minute audio/essay expressing their views of this year’s patriotic theme, “What are the greatest attributes of our Democracy?”

The awards will be presented to the winners at individual schools.

The post level winners of the Patriot’s Pen essay contest will be presented with certificates, pins and prize money as follows:

First, Lily E. Tronsen, Ellis Middle School; $100; second, Sylas Cole Johnson, South Davie Middle School, $75; third, Olivia H. Rareshide, Ellis Middle School, $50; fourth, C.J. Smith, Ellis Middle School, $25; and fifth. Ian S. Rareshide, Ellis Middle School, $25.

These student essays advanced to District level for judging. At the District level, where C.J. Smith was the first place winner, receiving $200, and Sylas Cole Johnson was second, receiving $100.

C.J. Smith’s essay will advance to the state level.

The winner of the Voice of Democracy Essay/Audio contest at post level will be presented with a certificates, pins and prize money as follows:

First, Gavin W. Lucus, Davie County High School (JROTC), $100; second, Calvin A. Phelps, Davie High (JROTC), $75; and third, Evan Trent Aarhus, Davie High (JROTC), $50.

Gavin W. Lucus will receive a $1,000 cash scholarship from the Joe H. King Memorial Scholarship Fund upon high school graduation.

The post level winners of the Voice of Democracy essay/audio also advanced to district level for judging.

Jim Cooper and Commander Tom O’Brien were judges at post level for the Patriot’s Pen Essay contest and the Voice of Democracy Essay/Audio contests.

“We would like to say thank you to teachers and students who participated in this year’s competitions. We would like to congratulate all winners on a job well done,” O’Brien said.

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Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Students      >      Essay Contests      >     Atlas Shrugged

✓    Open to all high school, college, and graduate students worldwide.

Annual Grand Prize

June 14, 2024

Summer Entry Deadline

Book Length

Interested in participating?

Fill out the contact form below, and we’ll email you with more information about this year’s contest—including instructions on how to enter.

Thank you for signing up!

We’ll email you more information about this year’s contest—including instructions on how to enter. In the meantime, please let us know at [email protected] if you have any questions. We’re happy to help.

What is Atlas Shrugged?

The astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world—and did.

Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in its suspense, Atlas Shrugged is unlike any other book you have ever read. It is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man’s spirit.

How It Works

Every three months there is a new seasonal entry round, with its own unique essay prompt. You may compete in any or all of these entry rounds.

The top three essays from each season will be awarded a cash prize. The first-place essay from each season will advance to compete for the annual grand prize.

The first-place essay from each season will be eligible to contend for the annual first-place title, with the opportunity to secure a grand prize of $25,000.

Challenging Essay Topics

Each entry round features a unique topic designed to provoke a deeper understanding of the book’s central themes and characters.

Essays must be written in English only and be between 800 and 1,600 words in length.

Questions? Write to us at [email protected] .

• Summer Prompt
• Fall Prompt
• Winter Prompt

The essay prompt for our fall entry period has not yet been determined. We will post it here as soon it’s available.

The essay prompt for our winter entry period has not yet been determined. We will post it here as soon it’s available.

Grand Prize

Master our grading standards.

Essays are judged on whether the student is able to justify and argue for his or her view, not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. 

Our graders look for writing that is clear, articulate, and logically organized.  Essays should stay on topic, address all parts of the selected prompt, and interrelate the ideas and events in the novel. 

Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of Atlas Shrugged .

Organization

Understanding, contest timeline, discover the power of atlas shrugged.

Atlas Shrugged  is a mystery novel like no other. You enter a world where scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and inventors are inexplicably vanishing—where the world is crumbling.

And what you discover, by the end, is an uplifting vision of life, an inspiring cast of heroes, and a challenging new way to think about life’s most important issues.

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Learn from Past Winners

Curious to know what makes for a winning essay in the Atlas Shrugged   contest? Check out some of the essays written by our most recent grand-prize winners. 

To varying degrees, they all display an excellent grasp of the philosophic meaning of Atlas Shrugged .

Click here to see the full list of 2022 contest winners.

Jacob Fisher

Graduate Student

Stanford University

Stanford, California

United States

Mariah Williams

Regis University

Denver, Colorado

Nathaniel Shippee

University of Illinois

Chicago, Illinois

Samuel Weaver

St. John’s College

Annapolis, Maryland

Patrick Mayles

Graduate student

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Christina Jeong

College Student

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, Indiana

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Each evening in her tent, researcher Jane Goodall would write up data from her field notebooks, recounting the chimpanzee behavior she observed that day. Immerse yourself in a replica of Jane’s research camp at “Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall,” an exhibition organized by National Geographic and the Jane Goodall Institute. The exhibition is open at the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT from December 7, 2023 through May 27, 2024. Photo by Hugo Van Lawick, Jane Goodall Institute

Inspired by Jane: A Winning Essay

By mark johnston.

In celebration of Dr. Jane Goodall's 90th birthday on April 3, and in conjunction with our current special exhibition, Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall , NHMU hosted an essay contest to inspire a new generation of visionaries among Utah's 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Titled Inspired by Jane , the contest invited contestants to share the positive impact they hope to make in the world by the time they turn 90 years old. 

With the contest running only a couple of weeks, 293 submissions were received from students all around Utah offering a colorful variety of visions of change. From space farming to saving the dwindling Great Salt Lake, the essays delivered assurances of hope from hundreds of young voices inspired by icons like Jane Goodall. Selecting a winner was no easy task, but eventually a consensus was reached among judges and on March 18 a winner was notified. 

Lily Peterson, a 7th grader from Mountain Heights Academy, submitted a moving essay that was awarded the top prize for thoughtfully addressing a local ecological issue in a manner influenced by Jane Goodall. In her submission, Lily shared how she was moved by the sight of wild mustangs enduring the challenges of their environment in Utah's West Desert, along with those they faced from inhumane population control methods. From that moment, Lily decided to pursue a career as an equine veterinarian to deliver more humane methods of population control to these majestic animals. 

Photo by Eliza Petersen

As the contest winner, Lily was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Seattle, Washington, where she met Jane Goodall in person after attending one of her lectures at the Moore Theater on March 30, 2024. Lily also received a $1,000 college savings certificate from the my529 Educational Savings Plan , a VIP visit to the Becoming Jane exhibition at NHMU (which is open through May 27, 2024), and a gift basket of Jane Goodall keepsakes from the Museum Store.

Following Lily's meet and greet with Jane, she recounted her admiration for her real-life superhero. 

“I admire her because of all she has done as a scientist, conservationist, and activist. As an animal lover I am thankful that she has proven that animals have feelings and emotions too," Lily said. "I loved being able to talk with her one on one about her own childhood experience with horses. It was so special to meet someone who worked so hard to make their own big childhood dreams come true. It is a moment I will never forget, and for which I am very thankful.” 

Read Lily's complete essay below.

Congratulations, Lily!

By Lily Peterson

For my seventh birthday, we took a trip out to see the Onaqui herd of wild mustangs. We searched for hours to find them, but it wasn’t until we were driving back along the desolate road that we spotted a small band of about nine horses out in the distance. Even though we kept our distance, I could feel the gentleness and protection the older horses showed towards their young. All these horses ever wanted was to survive the harsh desert and teach their young how to do the same. Throughout the years, these innocent wild horses have faced many challenges including roundups that often end with dead horses, being shipped off to slaughterhouses, and being shot for no reason. By my 90th birthday, I hope to impact the lives of wild mustangs so they can live on the range without the threat of being taken from their home or shot on any given day. 

In the history of the West, there has been a feud between ranchers and wild horse activists over where the mustangs should live. As the cattle industry grew it demanded more land for grazing, which the American government happily supplied, choosing to support cattle ranching rather than protect the wild mustangs. In the early 1900s, an estimated one million wild mustangs were counted, but during a recent count, there were only 8,300 free mustangs, and an additional 300 mustang skulls were found from those that had died (Moretti). The choice doesn’t have to be ranching or wild mustangs; there are ways for the two to coexist. Mustangs deserve to stay. Humans caused the problem, and humans should fix it. 

Wild horse activists have been working since the mid 1900s when Wild Horse Annie brought attention to the problems facing wild mustangs to the public. She hoped to find ways that cattle ranchers could live in harmony with the mustangs. One of the best solutions that has been suggested for mustang population control is the humane administration of birth control to some of the wild mares. This would allow the birth of wild horses each year but on a smaller scale. We cannot, however, have untrained people administering birth control to untamed horses. 

Equine veterinarians are best equipped to administer birth control, and I plan to become one of them when I grow up. Many horse-crazy girls have a copy of Black Beauty, but next to my copy, I have the Merck Veterinary Manual, which I received for my tenth birthday. I have also completed an online class in equine welfare and management through UC Davis. I want to become a veterinarian because I will be better equipped to advocate for the use of humane birth control if I am a trained veterinarian. When I am a veterinarian, I will also be able to assist in the administration of birth control, if such a time comes where it is allowed. 

Wild mustangs are an important part of our country, and by my 90th birthday, I want to provide wild mustangs with the opportunity to thrive in their homeland, unharmed by the human populations around them. If we were to take steps to protect the wild mustangs, it would show that we as a people care about more than just our own needs. Dr. Jane Goodall inspires me because she demonstrates the importance of understanding other creatures and protecting them and their environment. We are all interconnected, and like Dr. Goodall, we can strive to make the world safe for all living creatures. 

Work Cited 

Moretti, Laura. “History of America's Wild Horses | American Wild Horse Campaign.” American Wild Horse Conservation, https://americanwildhorse.org/history-americas-wild-horses. Accessed 5 March 2024.

Becoming Jane

Visit Becoming Jane at NHMU before it closes after May 27, 2024, to learn more about Jane Goodall's incredible career, from scientific research, to animal conservation, to inspiring a new generation of visionaries through programs like Roots & Shoots. The exhibit is included with museum admission.

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Winners of $450,000 Moscow Art Prize announced

The lucrative award is divided between 16 recipients and funded by the moscow city government.

Igor Makarevich and Elena Yelagina, the husband and wife duo, won the prize in the visual art category Image: courtesy of Moscow Art Prize

The second Moscow Art Prize, which carries a total purse of 33m rubles (almost $450,000), was awarded this week at Zaryadye Park adjacent to Red Square.

The annual prize is awarded by the Foundation for the Development of Contemporary Art, which is run by the Kremlin-connected cultural activist Ivan Demidov, and is funded by the Moscow city government.

The award is divided between three winners each in five categories (literature, film, music, theatre, visual art and architecture) and a grand prize winner. According to the prize’s website, it celebrates works created “in Moscow, about Moscow, for Moscow in any genre and movement of contemporary art.”

The veteran Moscow Conceptualists, husband and wife duo Igor Makarevich and Elena Elagina whose works are inspired by Vladimir Tatlin and Kazimir Malevich, took first place in the art category for their retrospective Countdown , which ran at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. Vasili Tsereteli, the museum’s director, is on the foundation’s board as well as the prize’s expert council, which includes leading figures of Moscow’s contemporary art scene.

The young artists Alexander Kutovoy and Timofey Parschikov, both born in 1983, were awarded second and third prize; Kutovoy for an exhibition called Bulky Biceps Trying to Fly , and Parschikov for a series of works called Sad.Ok.Super , a Covid quarantine visual diary that was shown at Moscow’s Multimedia Art Museum.

The architect Alexey Ginzburg was the recipient of the grand prize for saving and revitalising the landmark early Soviet Constructivist Narkomfin building designed by his grandfather, Moisei Ginzburg. The junior Ginzburg was recently the target of Moscow preservationists for allegedly endangering a historic Moscow neighbourhood near Zaryadye with a development project.

Demidov, who also runs Zaryadye Park in addition to the contemporary art foundation, became a household name in the 1990s as one of Russia’s first music television VJs. He morphed under President Putin into the founder of a Russian Orthodox TV channel, had a hand in Kremlin youth and religion policy, and served a stint as deputy culture minister overseeing cinema.

Demidov launched the foundation in 2015 and was appointed director of Zaryadye Park in 2019. He has worked to reshape the park by building an underground museum of contemporary art displaying large exhibitions that are presented as a counterpoint to international art trends.

At the awards ceremony, Demidov read a statement from Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin saying that the prizewinners’ works “add fresh colours to the cultural palette of Moscow and wins the affections of fans of contemporary art”.

Zaryadye was designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the creators of Manhattan’s High Line park.

YOUTH ESSAYS

Youth Scholarships

The VFW is dedicated to promoting patriotism and investing in our future generation. If you are a democracy-loving high school student interested in a $35,000 college scholarship or a patriotic middle school student interested in winning $5,000, these scholarships may be for you.

Voice of Democracy

Established in 1947, our  Voice of Democracy  audio-essay program provides high school students with the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.  Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th grade students from across the country enter to win their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program. 

The national first place winner receives a $35,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipient’s American university, college or vocational/technical school. A complete list of other national scholarships range from $1,000-$21,000, and the first place winner from each VFW Department (state) wins at least a scholarship of $1,000. Before submitting your essay, download the  2024-2025 entry form here  and find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2024-25 theme is:  "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?"

About the 2023-2024 winner ...

Sophia Lin, a high school junior at BASIS Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona, was named the 2023-2024 Voice of Democracy first place winner. Sophia's speech on the theme, "What Are the Greatest Attributes of Our Democracy?" won her a $35,000 college scholarship. Sophia was sponsored by Scottsdale VFW Post 3513.  Watch as Sophia delivered her speech during the VFW's Parade of Winners award  ceremony or  read it here .

Want to catch up on everything that happened this year? You can watch the full  Parade of Winners ceremony  which was streamed live on Facebook, or  see this year's complete list of winners .

Patriot's Pen

Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s  Patriot’s Pen  youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards. Each first place state winner receives a minimum of $500 at the national level, and the national first place winner wins $5,000! 

The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief. Before submitting your essay,  download the 2024-2025 entry form here  and  find your sponsoring  local VFW Post  as applications must be turned in by  midnight, Oct. 31 . 

The 2023-24 theme is:  "My Voice in America's Democracy?"

Bryant Day, an eighth grade student from Ashland, Ohio, was named the 2023-2024 Patriot's Pen first place winner. His essay on the theme, "How Are You Inspired by America?" won the national first place $5,000 award. Bryant was sponsored by VFW Post 9943 and its Auxiliary in Mansfield, Ohio.

Watch as Bryant delivered his winning essay  during the VFW's Parade of Winners streamed live on Facebook, or  read  his essay here.  See the complete list of 2024 national winners .

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Jewish Studies

Jewish studies essay contest 2024 is open.

Posted by malonj9 on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in featured , News .

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Guest Essay

The Nobel Winner Who Liked to Collaborate With His Adversaries

By Cass R. Sunstein

Mr. Sunstein is a law professor at Harvard and an author of “Noise,” with Daniel Kahneman and Olivier Sibony.

Our all-American belief that money really does buy happiness is roughly correct for about 85 percent of us. We know this thanks to the latest and perhaps final work of Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize winner who insisted on the value of working with those with whom we disagree.

Professor Kahneman, who died last week at the age of 90, is best known for his pathbreaking explorations of human judgment and decision making and of how people deviate from perfect rationality. He should also be remembered for a living and working philosophy that has never been more relevant: his enthusiasm for collaborating with his intellectual adversaries. This enthusiasm was deeply personal. He experienced real joy working with others to discover the truth, even if he learned that he was wrong (something that often delighted him).

Back to that finding, published last year , that for a strong majority of us, more is better when it comes to money. In 2010, Professor Kahneman and the Princeton economist Angus Deaton (also a Nobel Prize winner) published a highly influential essay that found that, on average, higher-income groups show higher levels of happiness — but only to a point. Beyond a threshold at or below $90,000, Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton found, there is no further progress in average happiness as income increases.

Eleven years later, Matthew Killingsworth, a senior fellow at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, found exactly the opposite : People with higher income reported higher levels of average happiness. Period. The more money people have, the happier they are likely to be.

What gives? You could imagine some furious exchange in which Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton made sharp objections to Dr. Killingsworth’s paper, to which Dr. Killingsworth answered equally sharply, leaving readers confused and exhausted.

Professor Kahneman saw such a dynamic as “angry science,” which he described as a “nasty world of critiques, replies and rejoinders” and “as a contest, where the aim is to embarrass.” As Professor Kahneman put it, those who live in that nasty world offer “a summary caricature of the target position, refute the weakest argument in that caricature and declare the total destruction of the adversary’s position.” In his account, angry science is “a demeaning experience.” That dynamic might sound familiar, particularly in our politics.

Instead, Professor Kahneman favored an alternative that he termed “adversarial collaboration.” When people who disagree work together to test a hypothesis, they are involved in a common endeavor. They are trying not to win but to figure out what’s true. They might even become friends.

In that spirit, Professor Kahneman, well into his 80s, asked Dr. Killingsworth to collaborate, with the help of a friendly arbiter, Prof. Barbara Mellers, an influential and widely admired psychologist. Their task was to look closely at Dr. Killingsworth’s data to see whether he had analyzed it properly and to understand what, if anything, had been missed by Professor Kahneman and Professor Deaton.

Their central conclusion was simple. Dr. Killingsworth missed a threshold effect in his data that affected only one group: the least happy 15 percent. For these largely unhappy people, average happiness does grow with rising income, up to a level of around $100,000, but it stops growing after that. For a majority of us, by contrast, average happiness keeps growing with increases in income.

Both sides were partly right and partly wrong. Their adversarial collaboration showed that the real story is more interesting and more complicated than anyone saw individually.

Professor Kahneman engaged in a number of adversarial collaborations, with varying degrees of success. His first (and funniest) try was with his wife, the distinguished psychologist Anne Treisman. Their disagreement never did get resolved. (Dr. Treisman died in 2018.) Both of them were able to explain away the results of their experiments — a tribute to what he called “the stubborn persistence of challenged beliefs.” Still, adversarial collaborations sometimes produce both agreement and truth, and he said that “a common feature of all my experiences has been that the adversaries ended up on friendlier terms than they started.”

Professor Kahneman meant both to encourage better science and to strengthen the better angels of our nature. In academic life, adversarial collaborations hold great value . We could easily imagine a situation in which adversaries routinely collaborated to see if they could resolve disputes about the health effects of air pollutants, the consequences of increases in the minimum wage, the harms of climate change or the deterrent effects of the death penalty.

And the idea can be understood more broadly. In fact, the U.S. Constitution should be seen as an effort to create the conditions for adversarial collaboration. Before the founding, it was often thought that republics could work only if people were relatively homogeneous — if they were broadly in agreement with one another. Objecting to the proposed Constitution, the pseudonymous antifederalist Brutus emphasized this point: “In a republic, the manners, sentiments and interests of the people should be similar. If this be not the case, there will be a constant clashing of opinions, and the representatives of one part will be continually striving against those of the other.”

Those who favored the Constitution thought that Brutus had it exactly backward. In their view, the constant clashing of opinions was something not to fear but to welcome, at least if people collaborate — if they act as if they are engaged in a common endeavor. Sounding a lot like Professor Kahneman, Alexander Hamilton put it this way : “The differences of opinion, and the jarrings of parties” in the legislative department of the government “often promote deliberation and circumspection and serve to check excesses in the majority.”

Angry science is paralleled by angry democracy, a “nasty world of critiques, replies and rejoinders,” whose “aim is to embarrass,” Professor Kahneman said. That’s especially true, of course, in the midst of political campaigns, when the whole point is to win.

Still, the idea of adversarial collaboration has never been more important. Within organizations of all kinds — including corporations, nonprofits, think tanks and government agencies — sustained efforts should be made to lower the volume by isolating the points of disagreement and specifying tests to establish what’s right. Asking how a disagreement might actually be resolved tends to turn enemies, focused on winning and losing, into teammates, focused on truth.

As usual, Professor Kahneman was right. We could use a lot more of that.

Cass R. Sunstein is a law professor at Harvard and an author of “Noise,” with Daniel Kahneman and Olivier Sibony.

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