$31,000 to Winners of "Fountainhead" Essay Contest
August 1, 2007

IRVINE, CA--High school senior Rituparna Basu, from Landsdale, PA, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's annual "Fountainhead" essay contest, for which she 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):

Edward Larkin, 12th Grade, Lansing Catholic High School, Lansing, MI
Madison Fitzpatrick, 12th Grade, North Springs High School, Atlanta, GA
Caroline Gorman, 12th Grade, Coronado High School, El Paso, TX
Trenton Morrow, 12th Grade, Parkview Magnet High School, Little Rock, AR
Austin Case, 12th Grade, Eastern Regional High School, Voorhees, NJ
 
Third-Prize Winners ($1,000):
 
Matthew Daley, 12th Grade, Georgetown High School, Georgetown, TX
Hannah Thurman, 12th Grade, William G. Enloe High School, Raleigh, NC
Michelle Alaya, 12th Grade, Sam Rayburn High School, Pasadena, TX
Jennifer Hall, 11th Grade, Santiago High School, Corona, CA
Jason Merritt, 12th Grade, Pine View School, Osprey, FL
Stephen Miller, 12th Grade, Escondido Charter High School, Escondido, CA
Nayantara Bhushsan, 11th Grade, La Reina High School, Thousand Oaks, CA
Ming Tseng, 12th Grade, Hunter College High School, New York, NY
Preston Montano, 12th Grade, Greeley West High School, Greeley, CO
Frances Mallari, 12th Grade, Holy Spirit High School, Abescon, NJ
Douglas Laskowske, 12th Grade, Mindanao International Christian Academy, Philippines

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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 140,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests. This year, more than 7,000 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

Media inquiries: media@aynrand.org
949-222-6550 ext 213