MARINA DEL REY, CA -- The following students have won the Ayn Rand Institute's 15th annual Fountainhead essay contest:
 
First Prize ($10,000):
Evan MacDonald, Distance Education School of the Kootenay, Nelson, BC, Canada
 
Second Prize ($2,000):
Justin Biggs, Raritan H.S., Hazlet, NJ
Christopher Freiman, Central Bucks H.S. West, Doylestown, PA
Chris Hale, Deland H.S., Deland, FL
Leo Rini, University of Detroit Jesuit H.S., Detroit, MI
Robyn Schroeder, Valparaiso H.S., Valparaiso, IN
 
Third Prize ($1,000):
Ryan W. Beneke, Escondido H.S., Escondido, CA
Eunpi Cho, Los Altos H.S., Los Altos, CA
Heather Anne Kidd, Nelson County H.S., Lovingston, VA
Tiffany K. Ng, Mercy H.S., San Francisco, CA
Anna Sharova, Parkville H.S., Baltimore, MD
Rohit Shetty, Athens Academy, Athens, GA
Rachel Shevchek, Edward S. Marcus H.S., Flower Mound, TX
Jonathan Skolnick, Roslyn H.S., Roslyn Heights, NY
Bridget Stankiewicz, Lyons Township H.S., La Grange, IL
Brandon Westerheim, Garland H.S., Garland, TX
 
     Open to high school juniors and seniors, the Fountainhead essay contest required 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.
 

More

      First published in 1943, The Fountainhead offers the vision of a totally independent man, architect Howard Roark, who stands against society's conventions.
     ARI awards one $10,000 first prize, five $2,000 second prizes, and ten $1,000 third prizes. The Institute also sponsors an annual essay contest -- for high school freshmen and sophomores -- based on Ayn Rand's novelette Anthem, with a first prize of $1,000. Since 1985, a total of more than 76,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests. This year, more than 3,500 students from around the world entered the Fountainhead essay contest.
     Information about next year's competition as well as a complete list of this year's winners can be found at http://aynrand.org/contests/.