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.

2005 Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Atlas Shrugged Essay Winners

Winners:

Atlas Shrugged Cover

First Place

  • Maria C. McRaven, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
    Read Essay

Second Place

  • Chris Adams, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY
  • Martin Glazier, Yale University, New Haven, CT
  • Alexander Haig, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

Third Place

  • Ryan Menezes, Boston University, Boston, MA
  • Jukka Valimaa, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
  • Lisa Wang, MIT, Cambridge, MA
  • James Wray, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
  • Peter Zuckerman, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Finalist

  • Katherine Adams, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
  • Rachel Bender, SUNY Postdam, Potsdam, NY
  • Rachel Evans, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
  • Gena Gorlin, Tufts University, Medford, MA
  • Danielle Hartman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Audra Hilse, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
  • Parker Hjelmberg, Winona State University, Winona, MN
  • Bach Ho, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
  • Crystal Ives, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
  • Derek Jacobs, Cornell College, MT. Vernon, IA
  • Noah Karp, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
  • Jina Lee, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA
  • Justin Novotny, Indiana University—Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
  • Alexandra Olney, College of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA.
  • Christopher Richardson, Salt Lake Community College, SLC, UT
  • Megan Ringel, Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Kirti Singh, Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
  • Kelly Smith, MIT, Cambridge, MA
  • Kara Soderstrom, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
  • Dallas Walker, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI

Semi-Finalist

  • Jessica Bod, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
  • Jonathan Ferrugia, Yale University, New Haven, CT
  • Thomas Hanson, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
  • Tzipora Henig, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
  • Bethany Holmes, Middlebury College, Vermont
  • Martha Hopkins, Durham College, Oshawa, ON, Canada
  • Jennifer Hsieh, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Daniel Jackson, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Peter Laumann, University of Florida, Gaineswille, FL
  • Christopher Lauritzen, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Sujung Lim, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
  • Matthew Lindeman, Sanit John’s University, Collegeville, MN
  • Rachel Mekwunye, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, CA
  • Mallory Nelson, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
  • David Nolan, Knox College, Galesburg, IL
  • Ben O’Neill, Australian National University, Acton, Australia
  • Sarah Pullen, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
  • Pamela Stacey, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Kim Stephenson, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
  • John Thorlin, Georgetown College, Washington, DC