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.

2003 The Fountainhead Essay Contest

The Fountainhead Essay Winners

Winners:

The Fountainhead Cover

First Place

  • Gena Gorlin, North Central High School, Indianapolis, IN, USA
    Read Essay

Second Place

  • John Cushma, Seton-LaSalle High School, McMurray, PA, USA
  • Katherine Green, Ypsilanti High School, Ypsilanti, MI, USA
  • Lauren Jurgensen, Forest Park Senior High School, Manassas, VA, USA
  • DC Pierson, Mountain Pointe High School, Phoenix, AZ, USA
  • Yanjia Yao, Herschel V. Jenkins High School, Savannah, GA, USA

Third Place

  • Anna Brenner, Indiana University High School, South Bend, IN, USA
  • Katie Anderson, Waldorf High School, Lexington, MA, USA
  • Preston Copeland, Carver Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • Lacaya Hoyt, Monmouth Academy, Winthrop, ME, USA
  • Marianne Macdonald, Dalbrae Academy, Port Hood, Nova Scotia, Canada
  • Daniel Wilner, The Hotchkiss School, Westmount, QC, Canada
  • Michael Franco, James Bowie High School, Austin, TX, USA
  • Joseph Bloom, Homeschooled, Middletown, VA, USA
  • Thomas Johnson, Lynden High School, Lynden, WA, USA
  • Peter Kobylarz, Newport High School, Newport, WA, USA

Finalist

  • Sam Al-Khoury, Cedarcrest High School, Duvall, WA, USA
  • Easha Anand, Montgomery Blair High School, Potomac, MD, USA
  • Kirsten Andersen, The Hill School, Gilbertsville, VA, USA
  • May Tarek Aziz, The Islamic Saudi Academy, Falls Church, VA, USA
  • Kyle Beauchamp, Saint Louis Priory School, Wentzville, MO, USA
  • Jessica Benner, Gladewater HS, Gladewater, TX, USA
  • Emily Birukow, Springfield High School, Holland, OH, USA
  • Anthony Boutelle, Turpin High School, Cincinnati, OH, USA
  • Amy Bowden, Eatonville High School, Eatonville, WA, USA
  • Karen Carmichael, Oscoda Area High School, Oscoda, MI, US
  • Jason Crowe, Sky Flight Academy (Home School), Newburgh, IN, USA
  • Gregory Demers, St. John’s Preparatory School, North Reading, MA, USA
  • Kirstin Doyle-Cooney, Lamar High School, Houston, TX, USA
  • Fernando Frias, Schurr High School, Monterey Park, CA, USA
  • Kent Garber, Riverwood High School, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Hallie Graves, James Bowie High School, Austin, TX, USA
  • Daniel Haley, Xaverian High School, Brooklyn, NY, USA
  • Eva Hare, Albuquerque High School, Albuquerque, NM, USA
  • Philip Howison, Stratford High School, Stratford, N.I., New Zealand
  • Sunyia Hussain, Stanton College Preparatory, Jacksonville, FL, USA
  • Eric Johnson, Home schooled, Minneapolis, MN, USA
  • Amina Khan, Saint Francis High School, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Hannah Koeske, Lewis and Clark HS, Spokane, WA, USA
  • Jason Kopp, Paul M. Dorman High School, Moore, SC, USA
  • Colin McDonell, Cedarcrest High School, Carnation, WA, USA
  • Phil Milroy, Columbus North High School, Columbus, IN, USA
  • Jeffrey Mounzer, Redlands East Valley High School, Redlands, CA, USA
  • Josh Newell, Mohonasen High School, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Brooke Perini, Soddy Daisy High School, Hixson, TN, USA
  • Amanda Rondot, Bishop Dwenger High School, Ft. Wayne, IN, USA
  • Alison Takemura, Schurr High School, Rosemead, CA, USA
  • Alison Wahl, California High School, San Ramon, CA, USA
  • Christina Wang, Northern Valley Regional HS—Demarest, Closter, NJ
  • Caleb Winn, Heritage Christian School, San Diego, CA, USA
  • Heather Yeo, Valley High School, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Semi-Finalist

  • Henny Admoni, J. L. Miller Great Neck North High School, Great Neck, NY
  • Sarwat Ahmad, Andover HS, West Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Stephen Aladenoye, Queens Village, NY
  • Amor Alcobendas, Mountain Vew High School, Vancouver, WA, USA
  • Carly Anderson, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX, USA
  • Harini Angara, John Jay Senior High School, Hopewell Junction, NY, USA
  • Justin Barclay, park hill, kansas city, MO, USA
  • Kimberly Barr, Woodbury Senior High School, Woodbury, MN, USA
  • Nathan Barrett, Moravian Academy, Northampton, PA, USA
  • Kestrel Bartlett, Interlachen High School, Hawthorne, FL, USA
  • William Beaumont, Newbury Park High School, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
  • Keisha Benjamin, Edward R. Murrow High School, Brooklyn, NY, USA
  • Patrick Bennett, Rocky Road Homeschool, Troutville, CA, USA
  • Luc Benoit, Georges P. Vanier, High Prairie, AB, Canada
  • Marc Benoit, George P. Vanier, High Prairie, AB, Canada
  • Marija Bernota, Homeschooled, Albuquerque, NM, USA
  • Kelli Billstein, Stillwater Area High School, Lake Elmo, MN, USA
  • Philip Bird, Vulcan County Central, Arrowwood, Alberta, Canada
  • Kristin Black, David H Hickman High School, Columbia, MO, USA
  • Julie Blasinski, Muskego High School, Wind Lake, WI, USA
  • Marissa Blunschi, Diamond Ranch High School, Pomona, CA, USA
  • Joshua Boehm, City High School, Iowa City, IA, USA
  • Kyle Booten, Brentwood Academy, Brentwood, TN, USA
  • Gregory Boros, Seneca Valley Senior High School, Zelienople, PA, USA
  • Alyssa Borowske, Homeschool, Barre, VT, USA
  • Allison Boyer, Line Mountain High School, Klingerstown, PA, USA
  • Tamara Bryan, Onate HS, Las Cruces, NM, USA
  • Michael Bukoski, Westmont Hilltop HS, Johnstown, PA, USA
  • Donald Carpenter, Freedom Area High School, Conway, PA, USA
  • Lindsey Carr, Shelby County High School, Columbiana, AL, USA
  • Tracy Carrington, Deming High School, Germantown, KY, USA
  • Bailey Cato, Dexter High School, Dexter, MO, USA
  • Wesley Shen-teh Chang, Westlake High School, Thousand Oaks, CA
  • John Chapman, Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, NC, USA
  • Bryan Christopher Chapman, Sandia High School, Albuquerque, NM
  • Inga Chernyak, Bergen County Academies, Fair Lawn, NJ, USA
  • Nesochi Chinwuba, Rancho Buena Vista High School, Vista, CA, USA
  • Lisa Chung, Mills E. Godwin HS, Glen Allen, VA, USA
  • Michelle Clark, Woodstock High School, Woodstock, GA, USA
  • Elizabeth Cooke, Richland Center High School, Richland Center, WI, USA
  • Shanna Morgan Cooper, Irvington High School, Fremont, CA, USA
  • Brian Coyne, Hillsborough High School, Hillsborough, NJ, USA
  • Brendan Crain, Menomonee Falls High School, Menomonee Falls, WI
  • Bryan Culbertson, Homeschool, Waldoboro, ME, USA
  • Kyle Daly, Heritage High School, Lynchburg, VA, USA
  • Emily Daugherty, Neshannock Jr. Sr. High School, New Castle, PA, USA
  • Elyse DeQuoy, Mohonasen Senior High School, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Elizabeth Diffenderfer, Wilson High School, Sinking Spring, PA, USA
  • Elycia Diskin, Waunakee High School, DeForest, WI, USA
  • Keith Dodge, Hoover High School, North Canton, OH, USA
  • Natalie Doering, Ponderosa High School, Shingle Springs, CA, USA
  • Donald Dreschel, Cherokee High School, Canton, GA, USA
  • Gregory Dubinsky, Stuyvesant High School, NY, NY, USA
  • Christine Dunbar, Crawford High School, Crawford, TX, USA
  • Eric Edwards, Roland Michener School, South Porcupine, Ontario, Canada
  • Alexander Eustice, Daniel Hand High School, Madison, CT, USA
  • Catherine Falzone, New Providence High School, New Providence, NJ
  • Karen Farrell, Towson High School, Lutherville, MD, USA
  • Kevin Field, N. Park Collegiate School, Brantford, Ontario, Canada
  • Alison Fincher, Henry County High School, Jonesboro, GA, USA
  • Maura Fitzgerald, West Morris Central High School, Long Valley, NJ, USA
  • Renee Flaherty, Odessa High School, Odessa, TX, USA
  • Shaina Forsyth, Mailbu High School, Malibu, CA, USA
  • Erin Frake, Lake Braddock Secondary School, Burke, VA, USA
  • Kristen Fuchs, Cheyenne Mountain High School, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Tyler Gage, Miramonte High School, Orinda, CA, USA
  • Ana Isabel Galang, Antelope Valley High School, Lancaster, CA, USA
  • James Geary, Catholic High School, Sherwood, AR, USA
  • Bryan Gergen, Long Beach High School, Lido Beach, NY, USA
  • Sarah Gifford, Homeschooled, South Dartmouth, MA, USA
  • Colleen Gould, A.J. Diamond High, Anchorage, AK, USA
  • Naha Greenholtz, Magee Secondary, Richmond, B.C., Canada
  • Elena Griego, Albuquerque, NM, USA
  • Mark Griffin, New Oxford High School, Hanover, PA, USA
  • Simina Grigoriu, Saint Peter-Marian High School, Worcester, MA, USA
  • Laura Grube, Wayzata High School, Plymouth, MN, USA
  • Caitlin Hagy, Solanco High School, Quarryville, PA, USA
  • Katherine Hale, Wake-Forest-Rolesville High School, Wake Forest, NC
  • Chenxing Han, Inglemoor High School, Kenmore, WA, USA
  • Justin Harris, Havelock High, Havelock, NC, USA
  • Kimberly Harris, Wilmington Area High School, New Wilmington, PA
  • Richard Hayes, Saint Louis Catholic High School, Lake Charles, LA, USA
  • Laura Heath, Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
  • Christian Heftel, Meridian School, Provo, UT, USA
  • Lauren Herscheit, Ridgewood High School, Ridgewood, NJ, USA
  • Audra Hilse, Blaine High School, Ham Lake, MN, USA
  • Tracy Ho, Sacred Hearts Academy, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Charles Hogle, Mohonasen High School, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Anthony Holley, High Point Regional High School, Sussex, NJ, USA
  • Matt Holt, Bishop Kenny High School, Jacksonville, FL, USA
  • Jennifer Hsieh, Andover High School, West Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Lillian Hsu, Whippany Park High School, Cedar Knolls, NJ, USA
  • Nancy Hua, Mt. Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
  • Gracie Huang, Northview, cumming, GA, USA
  • Linda Ichiyama, Moanalua HS, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Jennifer Jamer, Union County Magnet High School, Berkeley Heights, NJ
  • Laura Jensen, Fremont High School, West Haven, UT, USA
  • Sharon Jin, Victor Central High School, Victor, NY, USA
  • Luke Johnson, Cheyenne Mountain High School, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Lon Johnson, Litchville-Marion High School, Marion, ND, USA
  • Nicole Johnston, Ponderosa HS, Rescue, CA, USA
  • Windy Jones, Payson High School, Payson, AZ, USA
  • Mike Jowza, Pascack Valley HS, River Vale, NJ, USA
  • Rujvi Kamat, Mithibai College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Erika Kaneko, Greenwich High School, Cos Cob, CT, USA
  • Rachel Khong, Diamond Bar High School, Diamond Bar, CA, USA
  • Ryan Kilbane, Fairview High School, Fairview Park, OH, USA
  • Jon King, Meridian School, Orem, UT, USA
  • Matt Knauff, Chagrin Falls High School, Chagrin Falls, OH, USA
  • Marissa Kratz, Atascadero High School, Atascadero, CA, USA
  • Kayla Kreuger, John Marshall High School, Moundsville, WV, USA
  • Candice Kruth, Steel Valley High School, Munhall, PA, USA
  • Christopher La Pat, Desert View Independent School, Oak Hills, CA
  • Natasha Lalonde, Espanola, Ontario, Canada
  • John Lande, North Polk High School, Huxley, IA, USA
  • Martin Landry, Homeschooled, Ragland, AL, USA
  • Julian Lautersztain, Berkeley Prep., Tampa, FL, USA
  • Kuku Leadbeater, St. Johnsbury Academy, St. Johnsbury, VT, USA
  • Chantale Leduc, Madoc, Ontario, Canada
  • Alicia Leerskov, Mountain View High School, Vancouver, WA, USA
  • Caroline Locanto, McDowell Senior High School, Erie, PA, USA
  • Jennifer Logue, Cardinal O’Hara High School, Glenolden, PA, USA
  • Akshay Lohitsa, , West Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Rachel Long, East Valley High School, Moxee, WA, USA
  • Devin Looijen, Cedarcrest High School, Carnation, WA, USA
  • Chris Low, Mohonasen High School, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Florence Lui, Cupertino High School, Santa Clara, CA, USA
  • Cathryn Luria, Bloomfield Hills Andover HS, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
  • Ashley Monique Lusch, Fort Zumwalt South High School, O’Fallon, MO
  • Eric Mai, Edmond North High School, Edmond, OK, USA
  • Patrick Manning, St. Ignatius HS, Fairview Park, OH, USA
  • Julia Martinez, John Hersey High School, Prospect Heights, IL, USA
  • Erika Rae Martinez, Skyline High School, Renton, WA, USA
  • Jennifer Mayer, Horizon Honors High School, Chandler, AZ, USA
  • Michael Mazza, Haddonfield Memorial High School, Haddonfield, NJ
  • Alexander McCobin, Central York High School, York, PA, USA
  • Allen McFarland, C. Milton Wright HIgh School, Bel Air, MD, USA
  • Katherine McKelvey, Stevenson High School, Livonia, MI, USA
  • Kevin McMullen, Minnetonka High School, Shorewood, MN, USA
  • Laura Mecklenburger, W. Windsor-Plainsboro HS, Princeton Junction, NJ
  • Preeti Mehta, Princeton High School, Cranbury, NJ, USA
  • Sheela-Jane Menon, Sacred Hearts Academy, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Molly McKinney Miller, Kodiak High School, Kodiak, AK, USA
  • Tabitha Neiman, John Marshall High School, San Antonio, TX, USA
  • Marissa Newhall, The Benjamin School, Tequesta, FL, USA
  • Kyle Newman, Stuyvesant High School, Staten Island, NY, USA
  • Timothy Nguyen, Alta Loma High School, Alta Loma, CA, USA
  • MinhChau Nguyen, Suncoast High School, Haverhill, FL, USA
  • Chris Paci, High Technology High School, Manalapan, NJ, USA
  • Lauren Pawlak, Homer High School, Cortland, NY, USA
  • Kristen Peck, A. B. Miller High School, Fontana, CA, USA
  • Betty Piedra, Kaimuki High School, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Ashley Pointer, Mount Baker Secondary School, Cranbrook, BC, Canada
  • Russell Powell, , Monticell, AR, USA
  • Lisa Raffensperger, Central High School, St. Joseph, MO, USA
  • Madhavi Reddy, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA, USA
  • Leslie Richmond, Beaverton High School, Beaverton, OR, USA
  • Holly Riepen, Milford High School, Milford, MI, USA
  • Corey Ritter, The Lawrenceville School, Carlisle, PA, USA
  • Maria Robben, Sacred Hearts Academy, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Piotr Roszczenko, Central Dauphin High School, Harrisburg, PA, USA
  • Jameson Ruby, Greenwood High School, Bowling Green, KY, USA
  • Emily Ruff, Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville, IL, USA
  • Ronni Sadovsky, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, St. Louis, MO, USA
  • Erica Schuetz, Dulaney High School, Timonium, MD, USA
  • Erik Schultink, Williamston HIgh School, Williamston, MI, USA
  • Justine Seidenfeld, Northside College Prep, Chicago, IL, USA
  • Ritesh Senapati, Troy High School, Troy, MI, USA
  • Arnold Serapilio, Mohonasen High School, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Joanna Shelden, Bloomfield Hills Andover HS, Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Amanda Siegwein, Glenns Ferry High School, Hammett, ID, USA
  • Minu Singh, Convent of Jesus and Mary School, New Delhi, Delhi, India
  • Jenny Skelton, Central High School, Grand Junction, CO, USA
  • Charles Smith, York Preparatory School, New York, NY, USA
  • Amia Srinivasan, The American School in London, Park Rd, London, UK
  • Christopher Starr, Line Mountain High School, Dalmatia, PA, USA
  • Andrew Stegmaier, Fort Hill High School, Cumberland, MD, USA
  • Lo Stephanie, Alabama School of Math and Science, Madison, AL, USA
  • Andrew Sternberg, Neshaminy High School, Langhorne, PA, USA
  • Ethan Stone, Cadillac High School, Cadillac, MI, USA
  • William Taggart, Westerville South High School, Westerville, OH, USA
  • Allison Taylor, Portland High School, Portland, CT, USA
  • Erica Tibbetts, London Central High School, FPO, AE, USA
  • Mazie Tsang, Sacred Hearts Academy, , HI, USA
  • John Tyler, Mesquite High School, Gilbert, AZ, USA
  • Matthew Van Kirk, Lansing Catholic Central High School, Lansing, MI
  • Reinier Villanueva, Eastlake High School, Chula Vista, CA, USA
  • Calvin Vu, Miramonte High School, , CA, USA
  • Laura Wagner, Gardner High School, Gardner, MA, USA
  • Patrick Wellever, Allegan Senior High, Allegan, MI, USA
  • Andrea Wilkinson, Crestwiid High School, Shaw AFB, SC, USA
  • Jeff Wilson, Columbine High School, Littleton, CO, USA
  • Brian Wilt, Parkland High School, Orefield, PA, USA
  • Monica Hsiung Wojcik, Brookline High School, Brookline, MA, USA
  • Alexis Woolley, York County School of the Arts, Yorktown, VA, USA
  • Julie Wu, Manalapan High School, Marlboro, NJ, USA
  • Ted Yamamoto, Caldwell High School, Caldwell, ID, USA
  • Elizabeth Yepsen, Theodore Roosevelt High School, Des Moines, IA
  • Tiffany Yuen, Roosevelt High School, Kaneohe, HI, USA
  • Michael Zavala, La Puente High School, La Puente, CA