Announcing the winners of our 2024-25 Student Contests…

Congratulations to all of our award winners, and thank you to every student and teacher who participated!

Award winners were sent emails with further information, to the email addresses we received at the time of submission. If you’re an award winner and you did not receive your email, please check your spam folder. You can also contact us.

ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS
VIDEO CONTEST WINNERS

New contests with fresh topics will launch at the beginning of the new school year. Join our email list and we’ll let you know as soon as they’re open.

Each year, Stossel in the Classroom Essay and Video Contests invite middle school, high school, and undergraduate students to explore real-world issues through critical thinking and creativity. Contest winners earn a share of $25,000 in cash prizes and national recognition. Plus, teachers receive rewards based on their students’ participation.

Sign-up to be notified when our new contests are announced!


New contests with fresh topics will launch at the beginning of the new school year. Join our email list and we’ll let you know as soon as they’re open.

Each year, Stossel in the Classroom Essay and Video Contests invite middle school, high school, and undergraduate students to explore real-world issues through critical thinking and creativity. Contest winners earn a share of $25,000 in cash prizes and national recognition. Plus, teachers receive rewards based on their students’ participation.

Sign-up to be notified when our new contests are announced!


Thakur Singh

First Place (High School Division)

The government mandates that individuals funnel their money to the state instead of allowing them to invest where they would receive better returns. The individual has no say. The politician has all of the say.

Read Thakur’s full essay

Khai Minh Nguyen

Second Place (High School Division)

I had never seen anything even remotely like it. I was a little overwhelmed, but totally amazed. And, in a way, that’s what America felt like to me. It was big, welcoming, and full of possibilities.

Read Khai Minh’s full essay

THIRD PLACE

Alitheia West (High School)
Mona Chen (Middle School)

FINALISTS
Blen Admassu
Kate Chen
Owen Goergen
Ilyannie Gonzalez
Harini Kondisetty
Adelle Scalf
Nathan Shapiro
Abigail Ulring
Valerie Van Pham
Angela Zhu
SEMI-FINALISTS
James Boggs
Sabrina Chen
Olivia Fang
Maggie Fleischer
Gabriel Garone
Rosie Lee
Abigail Nelson
Melia Sorgenfrei
Akshaya Sreeram
Alek Vasek

Rayan Shaikh

First Place (Middle School Division)

My generation isn’t looking for easy breaks. We want the chance to learn, contribute, and grow. But with fewer doors open, it feels like the ladder we hope to climb is missing its bottom rungs.

Read Rayan’s full essay

Samuel Hopkins

Second Place (Middle School Division)

There are many tactics of government coercion such as eminent domain, rent control, and vaccine mandates. However, one subject rarely talked about is the weaponization of the justice system.

Read Samuel’s full essay

THIRD PLACE

Alitheia West (High School)
Mona Chen (Middle School)

FINALISTS
Blen Admassu
Kate Chen
Owen Goergen
Ilyannie Gonzalez
Harini Kondisetty
Adelle Scalf
Nathan Shapiro
Abigail Ulring
Valerie Van Pham
Angela Zhu
SEMI-FINALISTS
James Boggs
Sabrina Chen
Olivia Fang
Maggie Fleischer
Gabriel Garone
Rosie Lee
Abigail Nelson
Melia Sorgenfrei
Akshaya Sreeram
Alek Vasek
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Isabel Aguilar
Zahin Chowdhury
Elise Denson
Alyssa Dessureau
Alice Duan
Elizabeth Guenkine
Rami Hayani
Kalie Jia
Artamia Johnson
Abena Kesse
Ethan Marshall
Owen Martin
Willow McBride
Nathan McHale
Jenna Mohammed
Madeline Neff
Yusuf Patel
Monish Saravana Kumar Divya Sundari
Karim Shaaban
Lillianne Southwell
Zeyus Spenta
Asha Sundaram
David Unatin
Yujia Wang
Felix Xiong

Danielle Levesque

First Place (College Division)

Syed Naeem

First Place (High School Division)

Benjamin Cardona

First Place (Middle School Division)

FINALISTS
Rinka Adachi
Chihiro Chua
Jackson Kuja
Helen Lan
Ethan Marshall
Nicole Medina
Anastasiya Rabchanka
Jonathon Slater
Vivienne Solanki
Valerie Van Pham

Jedidiah Kudaisi

Second Place (College Division)

Ean Soh

Second Place (High School Division)

Mason Woods

Second Place (Middle School Division)

FINALISTS
Rinka Adachi
Chihiro Chua
Jackson Kuja
Helen Lan
Ethan Marshall
Nicole Medina
Anastasiya Rabchanka
Jonathon Slater
Vivienne Solanki
Valerie Van Pham