This is the motive and purpose of my writing: *the projection of an ideal man*. The portrayal of a moral ideal, as my ultimate literary goal, as an end in itself--to which any didactic, intellectual or philosophical values contained in a novel are only the means.

2004 Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Atlas Shrugged Essay Winners

Winners:

Atlas Shrugged Cover

First Place

  • Jennifer Hsieh, University of Michigan, MI
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SECOND PLACE

  • Sharon G. Ramsey, Indiana University-Purdue University, IN USA
  • Rebecca Smith, University of Missouri—Kansas City, MO USA
  • Jonathan Ferrugia, Yale Univeristy, CO USA

THIRD PLACE

  • Joyclynn Potter, University of Wales,Lampeter, OR
  • Michael Andrew Jones, University of Washington, CA USA
  • Karen Burke, Yale University, MA USA
  • Justin Murphy, SUNY Geneseo, NY USA
  • David Back, University of Pennsylvania, PA USA

FINALIST

  • Tia Hosman, Idaho State University, ID USA
  • Mahesha Padmanabhan Subbaraman, Amherst College—Dean of Students Office, MA USA
  • Avital Harel, University of Western Ontario, ON Canada
  • Steven Smith, Seattle University, WA USA
  • Regina Campbell, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, GA USA
  • David Gallaher, University of Texas, Dallas, TX US
  • Jennifer Harper, King College, NC USA
  • Nicole Otten, University of Minnesota- Twin Cities, MN USA
  • Avraham Stoler, University of Chicago, IL USA
  • Patrick Walling, Boston College, NJ USA
  • Luke Morris, Hillsdale College, MI
  • Ryan Toso, University of California San Diego, CA USA
  • Abhisek Khandai, Washington University in St. Louis, IL America
  • Abheek Banerjee, Stanford University, CA USA
  • Amber Israelsen, Irvine Valley College, CA USA
  • Daniel Fishman, Clemson University, SC U.S.A.
  • Katrina Redelsheimer, The University of Chicago, CA United States
  • Qian (Janice) Wang, Caltech, CA USA
  • Greta Petty, Isothermal Community College, NC USA
  • Tzipora Henig, Bar Ilan University, Israel

SEMI-FINALIST

  • Daniel Schwartz, St. John’s College, MD USA
  • Vera te Velde, California Institute of Technology, CA USA
  • Kelly Dunn, University of Florida, FL USA
  • Justin Peckner, Indiana University, IN USA
  • Joelle Sept, Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design, BC Canada
  • Krystal Guo, University of Waterloo, Ontario Canada
  • Suria Lloyd , Holy Cross College , NY USA
  • Tzvi Kahn, Yeshiva University, NJ USA
  • Erica Swanson, Glendon College, York University, Ont Canada
  • Clara Fishel, University of California -Davis, CA USA
  • Stephen Thurman, Brown University, Ohio United States
  • Joseph Brousseau, Glendale Community College, AZ USA
  • Kelly Cadenas, MA
  • Heidi Morris, Hillsdale College, MI USA
  • Greg Demers, Seton Hall University, MA USA
  • Thomas Mathew, University of Toronto, Ontario CANADA
  • Alexandra Demboski, University of Oregon, OR USA
  • Adam Goldsmith, Cornell University School of Engineering, NY USA
  • April Jensen, University of Calgary, AB CANADA
  • Gabriel Broughton, Middlebury College, IL USA