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2006 JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Accepting Submissions from U.S. High School Students
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced today that the 2006 John F.
Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest is now open and accepting submissions
from U.S. high school students enrolled in grades nine through twelve. The
deadline for entries is Saturday, January 7, 2006.
Students and teachers may access the contest’s website at
www.jfkcontest.org.
The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites students from across the
nation to write an essay about a political issue at the local, state or national
level and an elected official in the United States who is acting or has acted
courageously to address that issue.
The contest is a companion program of the Profile in Courage Award, named for
President Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Profiles in Courage, which
recounts the stories of American statesmen, the obstacles they faced, and the
special valor they demonstrated despite the risks. The essay contest is
sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and generously supported by
Fidelity Investments.
The winner of this competitive annual contest is awarded a $3,000 cash prize.
The student’s nominating teacher receives a John F. Kennedy Public Service Grant
in the amount of $500 to be applied toward school projects involving student
leadership and civic engagement. These honors are bestowed upon the winner and
nominating teacher at the annual Profile in Courage Award ceremony hosted by
Caroline Kennedy and U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy each May at the Kennedy
Presidential Library in Boston.
“The essay contest fittingly honors President Kennedy, who believed deeply in
the power of the individual and the promise of our nation’s young people,” said
John Shattuck, CEO of the Kennedy Library Foundation. “It is gratifying to see
how readily students today can identify and understand acts of political courage
and their importance in our democratic society.”
“We are pleased to support this contest to encourage student leadership and
civic engagement,” said Doug Reed, senior vice president of Regional Management
and Public Affairs for Fidelity Investments. “This national contest for high
school students is a reflection of our commitment to education, literacy, and
civic involvement.”
Last year, the Kennedy Library Foundation received 2,459 essays from students
across the country, including all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and overseas American
schools in Guam, France, and Korea. Allie Comet, a 17-year old senior at
Stuyvesant High School in New York City, and Kevin Zhou, a 16-year old junior
from Monte Vista School in Danville, California, shared the top honors in 2005’s
Profile in Courage Essay Contest.
Comet’s winning essay illustrated the political courage displayed by Atlanta
Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., who was called upon by President Kennedy to testify in
support of the groundbreaking civil rights legislation the President was urging
Congress in enact. Zhou’s winning essay detailed the political courage of
Humboldt County, California District Attorney Paul V. Gallegos, who confronted
the environmental practices of Pacific Lumber Company, the region’s largest and
most influential private employer.
Fidelity first began supporting the national essay contest in 2001, and has
helped to extend the program by promoting and by providing technical assistance
for the development and management of the contest website at
www.jfkcontest.org
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is a private, non-profit organization
that provides financial support, staffing, and creative resources for the John
F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, a presidential library administered
by the National Archives and Records Administration. The Kennedy Library
Foundation and the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum seek to promote,
through educational and community programs, a greater appreciation and
understanding of American politics, history, and culture, the process of
governing and the importance of public service. For more information about the
Kennedy Library Foundation and the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum,
visit www.jfklibrary.org.
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