The 2024 Profile in Courage Essay Contest opens for submissions on September 1, 2023. The contest deadline is January 12, 2024.
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Profile in Courage Essay Contest Press Release 2020 Winning Essay List of Winners, Finalists, Semifinalists, Honorable Mentions Representative Walter B. Jones Jr.: “One of a Kind” By Noah Durham Cape
Helpful suggestions on note-taking and citations to ensure that you submit original work.
Formats for in-text citations.
Formats for various types of source material.
The contest is open to United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools; US students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program; and US citizens attending schools overseas.
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation invites U.S. high school students to describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917, the year John F. Kennedy was born.
Daud Shad, a senior at Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, won the national 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students. Shad's winning essay profiles William Moore McCulloch, a Republican US Congressman from Ohio who played an instrumental role in passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, despite fierce opposition from his constituents and many Republican congressmen. Shad was honored at the Kennedy Library on May 8, 2017 and received a $20,000 scholarship award, double the usual first-prize amount in celebration of the JFK Centennial. The first-place winner was a guest at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation’s May Dinner at which former President Barack Obama received the 2017 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
This resource explains the essay topic in more detail and provides helpful guidelines for writing and research.
Resources to help you prepare an excellent essay: Elements of a Strong Essay, Helpful Tips for Writing, Guidelines for Citations and Bibliography, and Criteria for Judging.
A checklist to guide your research and writing process. Includes links to Profiles in Courage and other rich resources.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the contest topic and requirements, citations and bibliography, the role of the nominating teacher, and more.
The first-place winner receives $10,000. Second-place receives $3,000. Five finalists receive $1,000 each. Ten semifinalists receive $100 each. Eight students receive honorable mention.
Submissions are evaluated on content (demonstrated understanding of political courage, originality, supporting evidence, source material) and presentation (quality of writing, organization, conventions.) Includes information about disqualifications.
2024 Winning Essay by Ruby McIntee (pdf) List of 2024 Winners, Finalists, Semifinalists, Honorable Mentions Vito Anthony Marcantonio: The Idea Lives On By Ruby McIntee High School of Dundee Dundee
Read past winning essays to see examples of excellent submissions.