Ayn Rand Institute Press Release

$6,500 to Winners of "Anthem" Essay Contest
August 11, 2008

IRVINE, CA--High school freshman, Adam Perelman, from Sunnyvale, CA, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute's annual "Anthem" essay contest, for which he received a prize of $2,000.

Open to 9th and 10th graders, and, beginning in 2009, to 8th graders as well, 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):

Tristan Aumentado Armstrong, Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, Calgary, AB, Canada
Dinah DeWald, Arizona School for the Arts, Phoenix, AZ
Emilie Finke, Lutheran South Academy, Houston, TX
Will Heberlein, Pomona High School, Arvada, CO
Margaret Johnson, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, GA

Third-Prize Winners ($200):
 
Jennifer Chan, Harvard-Westlake High School, North Hollywood, CA
Jennifer Choi, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, CA
Sarah Crestol, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA
Richard Fang, I.H. Kempner High School, Sugar Land, TX
Branden Lewiston, Indianola High School, Indianola, IN
Angela Li, Cypress Falls High School, Houston, TX
Jared Peterson, Westlake High School, Austin, TX
Nancy Roane, Paul W. Bryant High School, Cottondale, AL
Michael Saulle, Harborfields High School, Greenlawn, NY
Marija Zaruba, Sahuaro High School, Tuscon, AZ

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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 190,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests. This year, more than 13,000 students submitted their essays to the "Anthem" contest.

Each year ARI awards more than $57,000 in prizes to high school students and has given away more than a half a million dollars to contest winners during the past 23 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