The Freedom From Religion Foundation is proud to announce a total of $17,650 in award money for the 2022 Cornelius Vander Broek Graduate/Older Student Essay Competition.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is proud to announce a total of $17,650 in award money for the 2022 Cornelius Vander Broek Graduate/Older Student Essay Competition.There are 10 top winners and 11 honorable mentions this year with the topic: “Why religion is not the answer.” Students were asked to write an essay focused on one national or worldwide conundrum in which religion is the problem, not the answer.
Winners, their ages, colleges or universities they are attending and the award amount are listed below.
FIRST PLACE
Emily Carsten, 25, St. Catherine University, $3,500.
SECOND PLACE
Kaylin Camidge, 24, Georgetown University School of Medicine, $3,000.
THIRD PLACE
Sebastian Leon, 26, University of Central Florida, $2,500.
FOURTH PLACE
Jaden Kilmer, 26, Boston University, $2,000.
FIFTH PLACE
Elizabeth Higgins, 24, Towson University, $1,500.
SIXTH PLACE
Amanda DeSantis, 27, University of Detroit Mercy, $1,000.
SEVENTH PLACE
Abby Corbin, 22, Grand Canyon University, $750.
EIGHTH PLACE
Ashleigh Piccoli, 27, Penn State University, $500.
NINTH PLACE
Sara Vargo, 27, University of Maryland, $400.
TENTH PLACE
Kelsey Easton, 27, University of Denver, $300.
HONORABLE MENTIONS ($200 each)
Natasha Alvarado, 29, CUNY School of Law.
Holly Ardern, 25, CUNY–College of Staten Island.
Krisana Goel, 21, Fordham University School of Law.
Sarah Holbrook, 27, University of Maine.
Andrea Lopez, 23, University of Nevada–Las Vegas.
Maria Lopez Duarte, 26, University of Florida.
Joanna Mendoza, 19, University of Chicago.
Stephanie Petros, 24, SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
Skylah Sanchez, 26, CUNY School of Law.
Grace Stuewe, 22, Colorado State University.
Kaine Wofford, 25, Georgetown University School of Law.
FFRF thanks “Director of First Impressions” Lisa Treu for managing the details of this and other FFRF student essay competitions. FFRF would also like to thank its volunteers and staff for reading and judging the essays, including Paul Baker, Dan Barker, David Chivers, Dr. Karen Dubrule, Patrick Duff, Richard Grimes, Linda Josheff, Dan Kettner, Katya Maes, David Malcolm, George Pevarik, Rick Schuch, Sue Schuetz and PJ Slinger.
FFRF has offered essay competitions to college students since 1979, high school students since 1994, grad students since 2010, one geared explicitly for students of color since 2016, and a fifth contest for law students since 2019.