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.

2008 Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest

Atlas Shrugged Essay Winners

Winners:

Atlas Shrugged Cover

First Place

  • Robert Sanders, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
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Second Place

  • Gregory Arney, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
  • Ryan Krause, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
  • Margaret Wray, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Third Place

  • Abigail Chernick, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
  • Cadmus Kyrala, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
  • Melanie Martin, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
  • Ryan Menezes, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
  • Tay Tufenkjian, George Washington University, Washington, DC

Finalists

  • Michael Aikins, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Brad Aisa, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
  • Stephanie Aldrich, Worcester Academy, Worcester, MA
  • Paul Bennett, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR
  • Quinton Champer, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, IL
  • Thomas Danner, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
  • Andrew Franks, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
  • Patrick Gregg, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
  • Laura Harris, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA
  • Megan Henricks, Denison University, Granville, OH
  • Grant Jones, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
  • Jessica Lum, Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT
  • Katherine McKerall, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
  • Mark McLaughlin, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN
  • Ben O’Neill, Australian National University, Acton, Australia
  • Laura O’Neill, Trinity College at University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
  • Stephen Paplinski, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
  • Diane Staats, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
  • Lauren Turpin, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA
  • Michael Young, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Semi-Finalists

  • Daniel Bernal, Grove City College, Grove City, PA
  • David Bunck, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, WI
  • Beth Crock, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, United Kingdom
  • Gianni Galbiati, Brown University, Providence, RI
  • Alison Green, Illinois Valley Community College, Oglesby, IL
  • Starlene Justice, California State University at San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA
  • Vasiliy Lakoba, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
  • Krista Mehari, Hope College, Holland, MI
  • Mat Messerschmidt, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
  • Barbara Puszkar, Science Po, Paris, France
  • Mathias Quackenbush, Reed College, Portland, OR
  • Pablo Romero, Frontrange Community College, Fort Collins, CO
  • Katelyn Sunohara, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
  • Corinne Tamler, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Sam Tenney, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Sarah Thompson, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
  • John Thorlin, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
  • Tom VanAntwerp, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Rachel Vincent, CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College, New York, NY
  • Mohsin Vora, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA