$6,500 to Winners of "Anthem" Essay Contest
August 1, 2007

IRVINE, CA--High school freshman, Denise Orthner, from Hammonton, NJ, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's 12th 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):

Annemarie Ryu, 10th Grade, Mayo High School, Rochester, MN
Harrison Falk, 9th Grade, Duluth High School, Duluth, GA
Sophie Arlow, 10th Grade, The Overlake School, Redmond, WA
Megan Arkenberg, 10th Grade, Germantown High School, Germantown, WI
Nick Kowalczyk, 10th Grade, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN

Third-Prize Winners ($200):
 
Angela Fu, 10th Grade, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA
Benjamin Dong, 10th Grade, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA
Renee Bruner, 10th Grade, Cypress Creek High School, Houston, TX
Elisabeth Burns, 10th Grade, Dobyns-Bennett High School, Kingsport, TN
Stephanie Gonzalez, 10th Grade, Douglas MacArthur High School, San Antonio, TX
Victor Bartash, 10th Grade, Wall High School, Wall, NJ
Stephanie Aldrich, 10th Grade, Worcester Academy, Worcester, MA
William McChesney, 10th Grade, Paul M. Dorman High School, Roebuck, SC
Angela Li, 9th Grade, Cypress Falls High School, Houston, TX
Kelsey Lay, 10th Grade, Hamilton High School, Hamilton, IL

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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 140,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests. This year, more than 14,000 students submitted their essays to the "Anthem" contest.

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

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