IRVINE, CA--High school senior George Singer, from Enid, OK, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's annual "Fountainhead" essay contest, for which he received a prize of $10,000.

Open to high school juniors and seniors, the "Fountainhead" 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 ($2,000):

Sophia Chen, 11th Grade, Cypress Falls High School, Houston, TX
Kristin Wetzel, 12th Grade, Hilton Head Prep School, Hilton Head Island, SC
Amy Shen, 12th Grade, Ithaca High School, Ithaca, NY
Jason Spellmire, 12th Grade, Lebanon High School, Lebanon, OH
Matthew Shaffer, 12th Grade, Bethlehem Central High School, Delmar, NY
 
Third-Prize Winners ($1,000):
 
Alex Bassett, 11th Grade, A. J. Diamond High School, Anchorage, AK
Claire Bates, 12th Grade, Andover High School, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Rachel Pelaez, 11th Grade, North Davidson Senior High, Lexington, NC
Hannah Thurman, 11th Grade, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, NC
Julie Schwartzwald, 11th Grade, Grossmont High School, El Cajon, CA
Kathleen Clark-Adams, 12th Grade, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, CA
Tamanna Gulati, 12th Grade, Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream, IL
Alex Krimkevich, 12th Grade, American High School, Fremont, CA
Anne Lane, 12th Grade, Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO
Ming Tseng, 12th Grade, Hunter College High School, New York, NY

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First published in 1943, "The Fountainhead" offers the vision of a totally independent man, architect Howard Roark, who stands against society's conventions.

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 6,000 students submitted their essays on "The Fountainhead."

Each year ARI awards more than $57,000 in prizes and has given away more than a half a million dollars to contest winners during the past 20 years.

Information about next year's competition can be found at http://aynrand.org/contests