IRVINE, CA--High school sophomore Lian States, from Fairfield, IL, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's 11th annual "Anthem" essay contest, for which she received a prize of $2,000.
Open to high school freshmen and sophomores, the "Anthem" essay contest requires contestants to write on one of several topics dealing with the characters and themes in the novel. The contest is designed to promote critical thinking and writing skills. Essays are judged on both style and content.
The following students have won this year's second and third prizes:
Second-Prize Winners ($500):
Emily Eckart, 10th Grade, Norton High School, Norton, MA
Stephanie Spencer, 10th Grade, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA
Korynne Bolt, 10th Grade, Home School, South Bend, IN
Ketan Ramakrishnan, 9th Grade, Madison West High School, Madison, WI
Sally Howe, 10th Grade, Hastings High School, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Third-Prize Winners ($200):
Matt Mahoney, 9th Grade, Chandler High School, Chandler, AZ
Jessica Lange, 10th Grade, Home School, Chesterfield, MO
Stephanie Newman, 9th Grade, Fairfield Warde High School, Fairfield, CT
Sarah Sullivan, 9th Grade, Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert, CA
Sinye Tang, 9th Grade, University of Toronto Schools, Toronto, ON, Canada
Katrina Enright, 9th Grade, MMI Preparatory School, Freeland, PA
Anna Springfield, 9th Grade, Raleigh Charter High School, Raleigh, NC
Joe Thiel, 10th Grade, Skyline High School, Idaho Falls, ID
Alyson Pittman, 10th Grade, Bainbridge High School, Bainbridge, GA
Rachel S. Drummey, Mansfield High School, Mansfield, MA
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First published in 1938, "Anthem" depicts a collectivist dictatorship in a future in which the word "I" has vanished, and how a lone dissident discovers the lost word's spiritual meaning.
Since 1985 a total of more than 120,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests. This year, more than 11,000 students submitted their essays to the "Anthem" contest.
Information about next year's competition can be found at http://aynrand.org/contests/.