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.

2007 The Fountainhead Essay Contest

The Fountainhead Essay Winners

Winners:

The Fountainhead Cover

First Place

  • Rituparna Basu, Methacton HS, Lansdale, PA, USA
    Read Essay

Second Place

  • Madison Fitzpatrick, North Springs HS, Atlanta, GA, USA
  • Caroline Gorman, Coronado HS, El Paso, TX, USA
  • Austin Kase, Eastern Regional HS, Voorhees, NJ, USA
  • Edward Larkin, Lansing Catholic HS, East Lansing, MI, USA
  • Trenton Morrow, Parkview Arts/Science Magnet HS, Little Rock, AR, USA

Third Place

  • Michelle Ayala, Sam Rayburn HS, Pasadena, TX, USA
  • Nayantara Bhushan, La Reina HS, Camarillo, CA, USA
  • Matthew Daley, Georgetown HS, Georgetown, TX, USA
  • Jennifer Hall, Santiago HS, Corona, CA, USA
  • Douglas Laskowske, Mindanao International Christian Academy, Davao City, Davao, Philippines
  • Frances Mallari, Holy Spirit HS, Absecon, NJ, USA
  • Jason Merritt, Pine View School, Sarasota, Florida, USA
  • Stephen Miller, Escondido Charter HS, Escondido, CA, USA
  • Preston Montano, Greeley West HS, Evans, CO, USA
  • Hannah Thurman, William G. Enloe HS, Raleigh, NC, USA

Finalist

  • Manishika Agaskar, Hopewell Valley Central HS, Pennington, NJ, USA
  • Lishan Amde, Paint Branch HS, Silver Spring, MD, USA
  • Lindsay Ansai, Palatine HS, Palatine, IL, USA
  • Tamara Ashvetiya, Rochester HS, Rochester, MI, USA
  • Elin Beck, Mounds Park Academy, St Paul, MN, USA
  • Jennifer Burka, Thomas Sprigg Wootton HS, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
  • Stephanie Canton, Toll Gate HS, Warwick, RI, USA
  • Emily Cook, Quincy Notre Dame HS, Mendon, IL
  • Madison Davis, Bridge City HS, Bridge City, TX, USA
  • Samuel Dinger, Hollidaysburg Sr HS, Duncansville, PA, USA
  • Derek Gideon, Rhinebeck HS, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
  • Anna Hall, South Western HS, Hanover, PA, USA
  • Kayleen Hannaway, Philomath HS, Philomath, OR, USA
  • Ben Hartman, Lawrence Central HS, Indianapolis, IN, USA
  • Sally Howe, Hastings HS, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, USA
  • Janine Lopez, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Miami, FL, USA
  • Yi Lu, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Naperville, IL, USA
  • Gregory Marvin, Rhinebeck HS, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
  • Sierra Matthews, Coronado HS, Chula Vista, CA
  • Sean P. McCuskey, Buena HS, Sierra Vista, AZ, USA
  • Ambika Natesh, Andover HS, Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Erica Neville, Amador HS, Sutter Creek, CA, USA
  • Anne Newell, Seton Catholic Central, Plattsburgh, NY
  • Rachel Pacione, Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, Sudbury, ON, Canada
  • Vinny Parra, Coral Springs HS, Coral Springs, FL, USA
  • Michael Pattison, Mindanao International Christian Academy, Davao, Davao, Philippines
  • Mathias Paul Quackenbush, Columbia River HS, Vancouver, WA, USA
  • Peter Raimondo, St. Thomas of Villanova College, Maple, Ontario, Canada
  • Krystal Ramanarace, Park Vista HS, Boynton Beach, FL, USA
  • Robert Sanders, St. Lawrence Academy, San Jose, CA, USA
  • Carlos Sierra, Winter Springs HS, Winter Springs, Fl, USA
  • Peter St. Quintin, Windsor Secondary, North Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • Zach Stanley, Olathe Northwest HS, Lenexa, KS, USA
  • Nathanael Steadman, School of the Osage, Lake Ozark, MO, USA
  • Jack Strelich, The Anacapa School, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
  • Irena Tan, Northgate HS, Concord, CA, USA
  • Lulu Tsao, Whippany Park HS, Whippany, NJ, USA
  • Sruthi Valluri, Acton-Boxborough Regional HS, Lowell, MA, USA
  • Lauren Waldron, East HS, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
  • Ann Wang, Lexington HS, Lexington, MA, USA
  • Gavin White, Mars Area HS, Mars, PA, USA
  • Kitty Wu, Lisgar Collegiate Institue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  • Frank Young, Blue Valley North HS, Leawood, KS, USA
  • Joshua Zagorsky, Brookline HS, Brookline, MA, USA
  • Kai Zhang, Cathedral Catholic HS, San Diego, CA, USA

Semi-Finalist

  • Aubrey Alford, Alpine Valley School, Arvada, CO, USA
  • Caleb Bahr, New Braunfels Christian Academy, McQueeny, TX, USA
  • Rebecca Baird, Charleston HS, Charleston, IL, USA
  • Brittany Barnard, North Salem HS, Brewster, NY, USA
  • Stephanie Bedford, Life Church School, Kirksville, MO, USA
  • Brianna Beehler, Green Mountain Union HS, Chester, VT, USA
  • James Begley, Dobyns—Bennett HS, Kingsport, TN, USA
  • Kristina Bender, North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Rocky Mount, NC, USA
  • Zachariah Berkson, Bloomington HS North, Bloomington, IN, USA
  • Josselyn Berry, Cactus Shadows HS, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
  • Angela Bingham, High Tech High International, San Diego, CA, USA
  • Brian Bishop, Land O’Lakes HS, Spring Hill, FL, USA
  • Litany Boudreaux, Archbishop Chapelle HS, Waggaman, LA, USA
  • Emily Briegel, Sequoyah HS, Canton, GA, USA
  • Amelia Calsi, Rhinebeck HS, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
  • Nicole Cardenas, Coral Springs HS, Coral Springs, FL, USA
  • Veronica Cetnar, Andover HS, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
  • Chen Chen, Troy HS, Diamond Bar, CA, USA
  • Christine Chen, Bella Vista HS, Fair Oaks, CA, USA
  • Michael Cherella, Toll Gate HS, Warwick, RI, USA
  • Shikha Chhabra, Sanskriti School, New Delhi, Delhi, India
  • Andrew Cholewa, Spencerport HS, Spencerport, NY, USA
  • Mia Cinelli, Marquette Sr HS, Marquette, MI, USA
  • Jennifer Clark, Beavercreek HS, Xenia, OH, USA
  • Shari Clarke, Bainbridge HS, Bainbridge, GA, USA
  • Yenesey Conception, Mahattan Village Academy, New York, NY, USA
  • Ben Courts, Junction City HS, Fort Riley, KS, USA
  • Alene Covert, Fountain Hills HS, Fountain Hills, AZ, USA
  • Mary Crawford, Denmark HS, Denmark, WI, USA
  • Jennifer Cui, Troy HS, Troy, MI, USA
  • Bridget Cullings, Catholic Central HS, Castleton, NY, USA
  • Jordan Curtis, Centennial Learning Center, Gresham, OR, USA
  • Cara Dawson, Toll Gate HS, Warwick, RI, USA
  • Ana DeLong, Bloomington H.S., Bloomington, IN, USA
  • Zach DeLuke, Hockinson HS, Brush Prairie, WA, USA
  • Melissa B Denise, Home-Schooled, Montrose, WV, USA
  • Nicole DeZetter, Johnsburg HS, McHenry, IL, USA
  • Travis Dimmig, George Jenkins HS, Lakeland, FL, USA
  • Liza Donovan, Leicester H, Leicester, MA, USA
  • Levi Dudte, West Springfield HS, Springfield, VA, USA
  • Alesa Dunbar, O’Fallon Township HS, Belleville, IL, USA
  • Samantha Ellerbeck, Shawnee Mission East HS, Fairway, Kansas, USA
  • Jace Ellis, Salmon HS, Carmen, ID, USA
  • Nicholas Finio, Susquehanna Township HS, Harrisburg, PA, USA
  • Sophia Finkel, North HS, Worcester, MA, USA
  • Christopher Fite, Decatur HS, Decatur, AL, USA
  • Griffen Fletcher, Contoocook Valley Regional HS, Greenfield, NH, USA
  • Jake Friedlein, Scottsbluff HS, Scottsbluff, NE, USA
  • Elizabeth Fudge, Rockwall HS, Rockwall, TX, USA
  • Deborah Garcia, Roosevelt HS, Honolulu, HI, USA
  • Amber Gavin, Garnet Valley HS, Boothwyn, PA, USA
  • Rifka Geldwerth, Beth Jacob HS, Brooklyn, NY, USA
  • Laurien Gilbert, Moorestown Friends School, Mount Laurel, NJ, USA
  • Candace Giles, Richmond Hill HS, Richmond Hill, GA, USA
  • Jeffrey Glass, Pine Crest School, Hollywood, FL, USA
  • Rachael Goldberg, Atlantic Community HS, Boca Raton, Fl, USA
  • Benjamin Goldstein, Memphis University School, Memphis, TN, USA
  • Susan Gonzalez, Joe T. Robinson HS, Little Rock, AR
  • Kelsey Gordon, Lincoln Park Academy, Fort Pierce, FL, USA
  • Benjamin Greenberg, Lawrence Free State HS, Lawrence, KS, USA
  • Brock Grenfell, Mountain View HS, Bend, OR, USA
  • Garrett Groesbeck, Cheyenne Central HS, Cheyenne, WY, USA
  • Hillary Gwiazda, Mayfield Secondary School, Cheltenham, ON, CAN
  • Sabrina Haque, Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Drew Harper, Mt. View HS, Vancouver, WA, USA
  • Kristin Harrison, East Ridge HS, Montverde, FL, USA
  • Madeline Hartman, Las Lomas HS, Walnut Creek, CA, USA
  • Kayla Harvey, Wayne County HS, Waynesboro, MS, USA
  • Andrei Hent, Earl Haig Secondary School, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Zachary Herman, Bethlehem Central HS, Delmar, NY, USA
  • Valerie Hoerster, Llano HS, Llano, TX, USA
  • Jake Holler, Downingtown West HS, West Chester, PA,
  • Devin Holme, Crown Point HS, Crown Point, IN, USA
  • Christen Huber, North White HS, Monon, IN, USA
  • Destiny Hughes, North White HS, Monticello, IN, USA
  • Benjamin Jackson, Grand Forks Central HS, Grand Forks, ND, USA
  • Christine Kappel, Bethpage HS, Plainview, NY, USA
  • Sarah Karnes, Monticello HS, Monticello, AR, USA
  • Marc Keith, Fairfield Sr HS, Hamilton, OH, USA
  • Kathryn Kell, George Washington HS, Charleston, WV, USA
  • Greg Kerestan, Hempfield Area HS, Greensburg, PA, USA
  • Jessica Kiernan, Sanderson HS, Raleigh, NC, USA
  • Melissa Kimmy, Corry Area HS, Corry, PA, USA
  • Sarah Kimsey, Cresent HS, Starr, SC, USA
  • Caitlin Knierim, Willa Walsh Academy, Randolph, NJ, USA
  • Kyul Ko, The Bear Creek School, Sammamish, WA, USA
  • Mary Kreus, Swanton HS, Swanton, OH, USA
  • Maciej Krolikowski, Red Cross Nordic United World College, Wroclaw, Poland
  • Michael Laskin, Hanfrod HS, Richland, WA, USA
  • Nick Lewandowski, Stevens HS, Rapid CIty, SD, USA
  • Yanxi Li, James E. Taylor HS, Katy, TX, USA
  • Jingwen Liu, Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Stephen Lovely, Guilderland HS, Schenectady, NY, USA
  • Kim Lowe, Mountain View HS, Vancouver, WA, USA
  • Tracy Lum, Morris Knolls HS, Denville, NJ, USA
  • Karl Lundin, Fountain Hills HS, Fountain Hills, AZ, USA
  • Ashutosh Mahapatra, Blue Valley Northwest, Overland Park, KS, USA
  • Allan Malaguit, Victor Valley HS, Victorville, CA, USA
  • Amanda Marotta, St Pius X HS, Glandstone, MO, USA
  • Paul Marx, Torrey Pines HS, San Diego, CA, USA
  • Amanda Massie, Lake Havasu HS, Lake Havasu City, AZ, USA
  • Nicholas Masso, Miller HS, Shawnee, Ohio, USA
  • Natasha Mazumdar, Cienega HS, Tucson, AZ, USA
  • Mary McCarthy, The Charter School of Wilmington, Hockessin, DE, USA
  • Grace McGee, Izmir Academy, San Leandro, CA, USA
  • Samantha Melby, Northside Christian School, Tierra Verde, FL, USA
  • Daniel Metzger-Traber, Lexington HS, Lexington, MA, USA
  • Anthony Monterrosa, Foothill HS, Pleasanton, CA, USA
  • Claire Ines Morales, Denton HS, Denton, TX, USA
  • Trevor Morgan, Sam Barlow HS, Damascus, OR, USA
  • Joshua Morse, Wellesley HS, Wellesley, MA, USA
  • Cassandra Nader, Palmer Trinity School, Coral Gables, FL, USA
  • Anna Nay, St Pius X HS, Glandstone, MO, USA
  • Josh Neifeld, Rhinebeck HS, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
  • Ji-Wah Ng, Crystal River HS, Crystal River, FL, USA
  • Hien Nguyen, The Academy of Irving ISD, Irving, TX, USA
  • Isaac Nicholson, Rhinebeck HS, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
  • David Niselson, Sparta HS, Sparta, NJ, USA
  • Elisse Ota, El Modena, Santa Ana, CA, USA
  • Jessica Overbey, Tabb HS, Yorktown, VA, USA
  • Wayne Pence, A.J. Diamond HS, Anchorage, AK, USA
  • Zachary Pence, duPont Manual HS, Louisville, KY, USA
  • A. Lynn Phillips, Shiloh Academy (Homeschool), Pasadena, CA, USA
  • Liz Pierce, Lake HS, Walbridge, OH, USA
  • Monica Ramirez-Santana, Winter Springs HS, Winter Springs, FL, USA
  • Harrison Reback, South Palntation HS, Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
  • Lauren Redmond, duPont Manual, Louisville, KY, USA
  • Samantha Reed, LaSalle-Peru HS, Peru, IL, USA
  • Jack Reynolds, St Pius X HS, Kasas City, MO, USA
  • Michael Riehl, Jacob Hespeler Secondary School, Cambridge, ON, Canada
  • Taylor Rinehart, Alcoa HS, Knoxville, TN, USA
  • Paul Rink, St. Mary Cathedral HS, Gaylord, MI, USA
  • Gregory Rittchen, Daniel Hand HS, Madison, CT, USA
  • David Rittner, Toll Gate HS, Warwick, RI, USA
  • Quay Roberts, Lake Ridge Academy, Olmsted Falls, OH, USA
  • Laura Rodriguez, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, Miami, FL, USA
  • Daniel Rosenblum, Amity Regional HS, Woodbridge, CT, USA
  • Kyle Runeckles, Newmarket HS, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
  • Danielle Sahota, Unionville HS, Unionville, ON, Canada
  • Brenda Salinas, Awty International School, Houston, TX, USA
  • Jennifer Schug, Central HS, NYA, MN, USA
  • Tyler Scowcroft, The Prout School, Wakefield, RI, USA
  • Michael Sears, Findlay HS, Findlay, OH, USA
  • Max Silverstein, Andover HS, West Bloomfield, MI, USA
  • Sheena Singh, Centereach HS, Lake Grove, NY, USA
  • Dakin Sloss, Clayton HS, Clayton, MO, USA
  • Logan Smith, Brandywine Heights HS, Alburtis, PA
  • Amanda Springer, Signature HS, Wadesville, IN, USA
  • Jessica Stuart, Georgetown District HS, Georgetown, ON, Canada
  • Carys Tanner, Bloomington HS, Bloomington, IN, USA
  • Emily Taylor, Bayridge Secondary School, Kingston, ON, CAN
  • Ashley Thompson, Southwest HS, Fort Worth, TX, USA
  • Amanda Troxell, Owasso HS, Owasso, OK, USA
  • Minna Vandervliet, Erin District HS, Erin, ON, Canada
  • Gaurav Venkataraman, Andover HS, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
  • Celene Ventura, Lake Havasu HS, Lake Havasu City, AZ, USA
  • David Wadleigh, Nashua Christian Academy, Hollis, NH, USA
  • Andrew Walker, Gallia Academy, Gallipolis, OH, USA
  • Forrest Walker Roth, Rogers HS, Rogers, AR, USA
  • Ryan Wang, Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, Woodridge, IL, USA
  • Melissa Warren, Sardis Secondary School, Chilliwack, BC, Canada
  • Brenna Watry, Liberty HS, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
  • Jessica Watson, Groton HS, Groton, NY, USA
  • Hannah West, Homeschooled, Allentown, PA, USA
  • Nicole Whitehead, John Carroll Catholic HS, Shannon, AL, USA
  • Jonathan Williams, Home School, Fairmont, WV, USA
  • Ayana Wilson, Sidwell Friends School, Washington, DC, USA
  • Keith Michael Wine, Glendale HS, Springfield, MO, USA
  • Carlen Wirth, Pennridge H.S., Bedminster, PA, USA
  • Qi (Jade) Wu, The Woodlands School, Mississauga, ON, CAN
  • Dianne Xiao, Acton-Boxborough Regional HS, Boxborough, MA, USA
  • Catherine Yang, State College Area HS, State College, PA, USA
  • Scott Yeskie, The Independent School, Wichita, KS, USA
  • Jessica Zuo, Downington West HS, Downington, PA, USA
  • Cody Zupnick, Paul D. Schreiber HS, Port Washington, NY, USA