Friend,

I am so excited to announce the winners of AU’s 2021 Student Essay Contest!

This year we received more than 330 submissions to the contest from high school juniors and seniors, from 47 different states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

We were blown away by the quality of the submissions. It was incredibly difficult to choose just three winners. The AU team read meticulously through every submitted essay, which included personal experiences, historical research, policy analysis, and more. 

The three winners—Michael Hallinan from Colorado, Sarah Geist from California, and Oliver Petersen from D.C.—wrote passionate and persuasive essays about how the Do No Harm Act would impact church-state separation and the real lives of people in the United States. Each of our winners will receive a cash prize of $500-1,500, and the first-place winner was published in AU’s Church & State magazine this month! Click here to read them now.

Finally, I want to give a huge thanks to all who participated—and to our members, who make this contest possible every year. Together, we’re building a movement to protect religious freedom for all long into the future.

Sincerely,

Alicia Johnson,
National Organizer and Student Network Manager