FFRF Student Scholarship Essay Contests

Freedom from religion foundation essay competition — scholarships

All essay contest for this year are over. Please check back Feb. 2012 for new topics and guidelines.

Thank you.

FFRF Herbert Bushong Annual Essay Competition for High School Seniors Who Are College-Bound in the Fall

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of its 2011 Herbert Bushong High School Senior Essay Competition. Herbert, a Lifetime Member from Texas, has again generously endowed the scholarships. FFRF award $5,200 in prizes. College-bound seniors were asked to “describe a moment that made you proud to be a freethinker (atheist/agnostic/ nonbeliever).”

For first place, Anna Liu received a $2,000 cash scholarship; $1,000 goes to Jesse Miller for second place; $500 to Max Sandler for third place; and $300 goes to Elizabeth Sweeny for a newly offered fourth place. Seven $200 “honorable mentions” go to Benjamin Sudbrink, Kayla Fischl, Sierra Buehlman Barbeau, Dalila Ozier, Samuel Luke, Megan Wickens and Emily Schick.  For space reasons, “honorable mentions” were excerpted. “We are extremely grateful that Herbert has once again shown such generosity in sponsoring the competition,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The encouragement he offers young freethinkers is immeasurable. We also congratulate scholarship recipients and all those freethinking students who entered. You’re all winners!”

FFRF Michael Hakeem Memorial College Essay Competition

FFRF awards $6,400 in cash prizes to college essayists

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded cash scholarships totaling $6,400 to 15 currently enrolled college students for their winning essays in FFRF’s 2011 college essay competition. The topic was “Why I Am a Freethinker/Why I Am Not a Religionist.”
The $2,000 Michael Hakeem Memorial Award went to Nathan Held, 18, a sophomore studying philosophy, psychology and German literature at Ripon College, Wisconsin. His essay and all other winning essays will be reprinted in the September issue of Freethought Today.
Receiving $1,000 for her second-place essay was Clarke Knight, 19, a sophomore at Smith College, Massachusetts.
Awards of $500 each were designated in a tie for third place to Carlos Anderson, 21, a senior at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, and Taylor McGill, 20, a junior at Rutgers University, New Jersey. A tie for fourth place resulted in awards of $300 each to Simone Anter, 19, a sophomore at the University of Oregon, and Samantha Schrum, 19, attending Butte College in California. Nine students each received $200 honorable mention awards:
Casey Brescia, a sophomore at Buffalo State College, New York.
Hannah Burkhardt, 20, transferring to the University of California-San Diego.
David Cardoso, 23, a senior at Cal State-Sacramento.
Molly Hernandez, 21. a junior at Front Range Community College, Colorado.
Austin Johnson, 19, sophomore at Morehouse College, Georgia.
Gabrielle Monia, 20, a junior at the University of Oregon.
Sofia Ross Voloch, 20, Austin Community College, Texas.
Jacob Kovacs, 23, a junior at Evergreen State College, Washington.
Vicky Weber, 21, a Ripon College senior.
“We consider  scholarships to freethinking students as one of FFRF’s most important activities,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. FFRF has been offering a college competition for more than 30 years. Last year, in addition to offering its essay competition for college-bound high school seniors and a second to currently enrolled college students, FFRF debuted a competition for graduate and “older” (25 years and up) students.
FFRF thanks all the entrants for taking the time to write and offers either a school-year membership or a complimentary book to every eligible student.

FFRF Brian Bolton Graduate/Mature Student Essay Competition for Grad Students and Students Age 25 and Older

FFRF is pleased to announce that it has awarded cash scholarships totaling $5,000 to 10 entrants in the Brian Bolton Graduate/Mature Student Essay Competition. The competition, for graduate students and students age 25 and older, is named for its benefactor, a Texas FFRF Lifetime Member who is a retired psychologist, humanist minister and university professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas.
This year’s topic was, “Why Thomas Jefferson Got It Right! Why the Endangered ‘Wall of Separation between Church and State’ Must Be Defended.”
The $2,000 Brian Bolton Award went to Hilary McKinney, 25, a third-year law student focusing on Native American law at the University of Tulsa. Essays are reprinted in Freethought Today. (A few will be reprinted in future issues.)
Second place and $1,000 went to Matthew Mingus, 25, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida.
Third place and $500 went to Christina Speck, 26, a junior at Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas.
Receiving $300 for his fourth-place essay was Tyler Vunk, 34, a junior at the University of New England, Maine.
Six students each received $200 honorable mention awards:
Colin Gillen, 32, a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown.
Robert Kalonian, 30, a junior at Columbia University.
Ana-Margarita López-Ospina, 36, pursuing her M.F.A. at New York University.
Alana Massey, 26, a second-year graduate student at Yale University.
Chris Redford, 29, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kansas.
Robin Spoehr, 25, pursuing her M.S. at Rush University, Chicago.
“We consider scholarships to freethinking students as one of FFRF’s most important activities,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
FFRF instituted a separate essay competition for older undergraduate students and graduate students last year, after over 30 years of offering a college competition focused at more “traditional” students. FFRF also holds an essay competition for graduating high school seniors.
FFRF thanks all the entrants for taking the time to write and offers either a school-year membership or a complimentary book to every eligible student.
“We are so grateful to Brian Bolton, a retired professor, for financing the graduate essay competition,” said Dan Barker, FFRF co-president.
Next year’s essay topics will be announced in the February issue of Freethought Today.