Winners: 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009

2009 Anthem Essay Contest

First Place

Hillary Purcell, Mariemont High School, Cincinnati, OH, USA

[Read Essay]

Second Place

Julian Cassidyne-Hook, Home-Schooled, Kelowna, BC, Canada
Amy Do, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Brian Free, The Tome School, North East, MD, USA
Soumya Ghosh, Libertyville High School, Libertyville, IL, USA
Abigail Plummer, Daniel Hand High School, Madison, CT, USA

Third Place

Altair Regienne Galgana, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Madison Hansen, San Luis Obispo High School, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
Jason Kim, Century High School, Rochester, MN, USA
Shauheen Ladjevardi, Quarry Lane, Dublin, CA, USA
Walter Mcwilliams, Vandamme Academy, Laguna Hills, CA, USA
Kai Muskat, Vacaville High School, Vacaville, CA, USA
Sara Nishikawa, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Rilla  Peng, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Nolan Stevens, Willow Canyon High School, Surprise, AZ, USA
Olivia Zhu, The Harker School, San Jose, CA, USA

Finalists

James Alver, H.B. Plant High School, Tampa, FL, USA
Julia Andretta, Sequoyah High School, Canton, GA, USA
Austin Biehl, Stanwood High School, Stanwood, WA, USA
Taylor Buford, Seminole High School, Sanford, FL, USA
Alexandra Butler, Mesquite High School, Gilbert, AZ, USA
Eric Chen, University Laboratory High School, Urbana, IL, USA
Tucker Cholvin, Bothell High School, Bothell, WA, USA
Chelsea  Corey, San Ramon Valley High School, Danville, CA, USA
Sarah Craig, Peck Community Schools, Peck, MI, USA
Richard Cunningham, Elizabethtown Area High School, Elizabethtown, PA, USA
Kaitlyn Foley, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Ray Fontaine, The Tome School, North East, MD, USA
Lana Frankle, Stanbridge Academy, San Mateo, CA, USA
Nick Geary, Webster Thomas High School, Webster, NY, USA
Hannah Goring, Mater Dei High School, Breese, IL, USA
Sarah Greene, Paul D. Schreiber High School, Port Washington, NY, USA
Helen  Gutierrez, Hamilton High School, Chadler , AZ , USA
Holly Hajare, Milford High School, Milford, MA, USA
Audrey  Harnagel, Treasure Mountain International School, Park City, UT, USA
Madeleine Hebert, Lafayette High School, Lafayette, LA, USA
Laura Hildebrand, Episcopal Collegiate School, Little Rock, AR, USA
Raphaella Jackson, Lassiter High School, Marietta, GA, USA
Lance Kelley, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Velina Kozareva, Myers Park High School, Charlotte, NC, USA
Brooke Kuei, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Christine Livingstone, Cypress Woods High School, Cypress, TX, USA
Eryn Macneil, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN, USA
Alexandra McLaughlin, Rosemount High School, Rosemount, MN, USA
Luke Morris, Seminole High School, Sanford, FL, USA
Srishti Nath, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Rebecca Neuman, Lassiter High School, Marietta, GA, USA
Eric O'Donnell, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, GA, USA
Eric Pittaluga, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Brad Qualizza, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN, USA
Lauren Raycraft, Portage Central High School, Portage , MI, USA
Natalie Reyes, La Quinta High School, La Quinta, CA, USA
Anna  Sheu, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, San Francisco, CA, USA
Paige Squyres, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Remy Terle, Germantown High School, Germantown, TN, USA
Michael Tibbs, Pinewood Preparatory School, Summerville, SC, USA
Taylor  Turkeltaub, Chaparral High School, Scottsdale , AZ, USA
Jingxuan Wang, Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans, LA, USA
Elizabeth Waters, Cinco Ranch High School, Katy , TX, USA
Anna Woodmansee, St. Catherine'S School, Richmond, TN, USA
Michael Wright, Archbishop Moeller Hs, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Semi-Finalists

Jordan Abell, Littlestown High School, Littlestown, PA, USA
Athena Abuso, Herbert Hoover High School, Fresno, CA, USA
Adrian Adamiec, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL, USA
Jacob Artz, Dripping Springs High School, Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Marc Barnes, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Trisha  Basu, Micds, St. Louis, MO, USA
Martin Bear, Gardendale High School, Gardendale, AL, USA
Andrew Bender, Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, USA
Stephen Bergauer, Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ, USA
Ruth Bishop, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, LA, USA
Devan Blazey, Victor Senior High School, Victor, NY, USA
Sarah Blum, Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, USA
David Blythe, Clinton Community High School, Clinton, IL, USA
Colt Bradley, Brawley Middle School, Mooresville, NC, USA
Benjamin Brelo, Ozark High School, Ozark, MO, USA
Matthew Brock, Winter Springs High School, Winter Springs, FL, USA
Francesca Brown, Clairemont High School , San Diego, CA, USA
Carissa Brown, Hilliard Darby High School, Hilliard, OH, USA
Katelyn Brown, Park High School, Livingston, MT, USA
Stephanie Burda, Park High School, Livingston, MT, USA
Rebecca Butler, Murchison Middle School, Austin, TX, USA
Nicole Cannell, Daniel Boone High School, Birdsboro, PA, USA
Audrey Cannon, Douglas Southall Freeman High School, Richmond, VA, USA
Hannah Chappell, Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT, USA
Josephine Chen, The Harker School, San Jose, CA , USA
Helen  Chen, Evergreen Valley High School, San Jose, CA, USA
Marshall Chi, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Eun Bich Cho, Collins Hill High School, Suwanee, GA, USA
Taylor  Colwell, Spalding High School, Griffin, GA, USA
Kaitlyn Colyer, Mesquite High School, Gilbert, AZ, USA
Victoria Connelly, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN, USA
Paige Coughlin, Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans, LA, USA
Trinity  Covington, Park High School, Livingston, MT, USA
Dylan Crouse, Riverside High School, Basin, WY, USA
Sarah D'Atri, Simi Valley High School, Simi Valley , CA, USA
Cailin Daley, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, MA, USA
Zachary Danielak, North Springs Charter High School, Atlanta, GA, USA
Hannah Davis, Rockville High School, Vernon, CT, USA
Christopher Deitrick, Midlothian High School, Midlothian, VA, USA
Hayley Deklotz, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Amanda Diethorn, Spanish River High School, Boca Raton, FL, USA
Jose Dominguez, Klein Oak High School, Spring, TX, USA
Annabel Edwards, Lassiter High School, Marietta, GA, USA
Tyler England, F. W. Springstead High School, Brookesville, FL, USA
Devin Eskew, Pittsfield High School, Pittsfield , IL, USA
Lauren Falcom, Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX, USA
Emily  Featherstone, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN, USA
Ethan Ferraro, Urbana High School, Ijamsville, MD, USA
Ames Fowler, Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, USA
Elizabeth Fox, El Molino High School, Forestville, CA, USA
Robert Friedland, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Neelay  Fruitwala, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Anna Gerechka, Portage Central High School, Portage, MI, USA
Thu Giao, Elk Grove High School, Elk Grove, CA, USA
Dan Gregory, Covington Catholic High School, Park Hills, KY, USA
Sarah  Hageman, South Plainfield High School, South Plainfield, NJ, USA
Tyler Halliwell, Tecumseh Jr. High School, Lafayette, IN, USA
Colin Harkrider, Cherry Creek High School, Englewood, CO, USA
Tyler Haulotte, Stony Point High School, Round Rock, TX, USA
Emily Hebert, Lafayette High School, Lafayette, LA, USA
Annie Hegarty, Lafayette Tecumseh Junior High School, Lafayette, IN, USA
Forest Hempen, Mater Dei High School, Breese, IL, USA
Brandon Henken, Central Dauphin High School, Harrisburg, PA, USA
Cody Henson, Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans, LA, USA
Amey Hewitt, Portage Central High School, Portage, MI, USA
Beth Hightower, Home Study Program Cupertino Union School District, Cupertino, CA, USA
Terranisha Hiley, Wossman High School, Monroe, LA, USA
Joel Hodgdon, Mill Valley High School, Shawnee , KS, USA
Robert Hsu, Andover High School, Andover, MA, USA
Trisha Huff, Easton Area High School, Easton, PA, USA
Lena Jia, Kirksville High School, Kirksville, TN, USA
Olivia Johnson, Allen Park High School, Allen Park, MI, USA
Lauren Jones, Canton High School, Canton, IL, USA
Alex  Jones, Hebron Christian Academy, Dacula, GA, USA
Glenna Joyce, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, MA, USA
Arjun Kar, Mt. Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Bailey Kay, Orillia District Collegiate And Vocational Institute, Orillia, ON, Canada
Ryan Key, Mountain Home Jr. High School, Mountain Home, AR, USA
Angie Kim, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Surin Kim, Troy High School, Fullerton, CA, USA
Edward Kim, Daniel Boone High School, Birdsboro, PA, USA
Kathrin  Klemm, Intermountain Adventist Academy, Grand Junction, CO, USA
Tia Kosaka, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL, USA
Sandy Kramer, Rancho Buena Vista High School, Vista, CA, USA
Cassidy Krokosz, St. Cloud High School, St. Cloud, FL, USA
Jodi Leach, Pueblo County High School, Pueblo , CO, USA
Rachael  Lefevre, Portage Central High School, Portage , MI, USA
Daphna LeGall, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Sara Lynn Lesage, North Springs Charter High School, Atlanta, GA, USA
Mariah Ligas, Freedom High School, South Riding, VA, USA
Daniel Liss, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockville, MD, USA
Caroline Lo, Hamilton High School, Chadler , AZ , USA
Robert Lou, Grimsley High School, Greensboro, NC, USA
Hannah Lowell, La Quinta High School, La Quinta , CA, USA
Stephanie Lu, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Ashley Luer, Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville, IL, USA
Maggie Lundquist, Fellowship Christian Academy, Methuen, MA, USA
Jordan Lunsford, Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, USA
Leonard Ma, Elk Grove High School, Elk Grove, CA, USA
Logan Ma, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Jay Mahabal, Blair Ib Magnet School, Pasadena, CA, USA
Jonathan Makel, Kent-Meridian High School, Kent , WA, USA
Ashlee Malone, North Hagerstown High School, Hagerstown, MD, USA
Erin Martell, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL, USA
Harleen Marwah, Lutheran High School Of La Verne, La Verne, CA, USA
Collin Miclon, Buckfield High School, Buckfield, ME, USA
Mitchell Miller, North Springs Charter High School, Atlanta, GA, USA
Brandon Mills, Hilliard Davidson High School, Hilliard, OH, USA
Stephanie Morse, Belton High School Freshman Center, Belton, MO, USA
Caroline Murphy, Maine South High School, Park Ridge, IL., USA
Lauren Nash, George Jenkins High School, Lakeland, FL, USA
Danielle O'Hara, Webster Thomas High School, Webster, NY, USA
Amanda Ojeda, Easton Area High School, Easton, PA, USA
Sarah  Orsak, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX, USA
Jonathan Pae, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, CA, USA
Joshua Page, Dripping Springs High School, Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Alyanna Elisa Palma, Liberty High School, Hillsboro, OR, USA
Shivangi Patel, George Jenkins High School, Lakeland, FL, USA
Janine Perri, Sachem High School East, Farmingville, NY, USA
Rachel  Peters, Franklin Regional Senior High School, Murrysville, PA, USA
Jolee Potts, Jenks Middle School, Jenks, OK, USA
Scott Prouty, El Molino High School, Forestville, CA, USA
Erin Purcell, Mariemont High School, Cincinnati, OH, USA
Yasmin Rafiq, Midlothian High School, Midlothian , VA, USA
Rohit  Reddy, Germantown High School, Germantown, TN, USA
Benny Rockwell, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Camilo  Ruiz, Cinco Ranch High School, Katy , TX, USA
Jessica Rutkowski, Conrad Weiser High School, Robesonia, PA, USA
Susanna Sabin, Blair Ib Magnet High School, Pasadena, CA, USA
Jacob Sachs, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Melissa Sandler, Coral Glades High, Coral Springs, FL, USA
Elizabeth Sapoznik, Granger Middle School, Aurora, IL, USA
Richard Saylor, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, GA, USA
Katie Sears, C. Douglas Killough Lewisville High School North, Lewisville, TX, USA
Max Shatkhin, Winter Springs High School, Winter Springs, FL, USA
Maryann Shipp, Cinco Ranch High School, Katy , TX, USA
Carmen Siew, Crown Point High School, Crown Point, IN, USA
Kiersten Smith, North Lenoir High School, La Grange, NC, USA
Caroline Snowden, Alice B. Landrum Middle School, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA
Maeve Snyder, Penn Manor High School, Millersville, PA, USA
Albert Song, Davis High School, Kaysville, UT, USA
Kate Stankiewicz, Marblehead High School, Marblehead, MA, USA
David Steury, Moscow High School, Moscow, ID, USA
Christine  Stevens, Rosary High School, Fullerton, CA, USA
Tammy Tarng, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Chris Tate, Hilliard Davidson High School, Hilliard, OH, USA
Jonathon Taylor, Stony Point High School, Round Rock, TX, USA
Devon Tenney, Aiea High School, Aiea, HI, USA
Janie Tepen, Jersey Community High School, Jerseyville, IL, USA
Kyle Vachris, Frank W. Cox High School, Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Leah Vaughan, Knoch High School, Saxonburg, PA, USA
Angela Vertucci, Elizabethtown Area High School, Elizabethtown, PA, USA
Barbora Vrbikova, A.J. Dimond, Anchorage, AK, USA
Aaron Wade, Waverly High School, Lansing, MI, USA
Emily Wages, Foothill Technology High School, Ventura, CA, USA
Jimmy Wagner, Victor High School, Victor, NY, USA
Jerry Wakai, Enterprise High School, Redding, CA, USA
Jeanny Wang, Schurr High School, Montebello, CA, USA
Stefanie Watson, Timbercrest Junior High School, Woodinville, WA, USA
Marc Webber, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Ashley Weber, Melbourne Central Catholic High School, Melbourne, FL, USA
Kelly Weill, Ruben A. Cirillo High School, Macedon, NY, USA
Haley Westfall, Clinton Community High School, Clinton, IL, USA
Tony Wickham, Rockwall High School, Rockwall, TX, USA
Janelle Wilhelm, Webster County High School, Dixon, KY, USA
Stefani Wilson, Walter Hines Page High School, Greensboro, NC, USA
Ariana Yeatts-Lonske, Cabin John Middle School, Potomac, MD, USA
Albert Yen, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Tiffany Yim, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Amy Yu, Cinco Ranch High School, Katy , TX, USA
Wesley  Yu, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Comyar Zaheri, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
Jana Zaidan, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
Wenyuan Zhou, Spring-Ford High School, Royersford, PA, USA
Dylan Zimmerman, East Brunswick High School, East Brunswick, NJ, USA