jfk profiles in courage essay contest 2023

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

In Profiles in Courage , John F. Kennedy recounted the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers to do what was right for the nation. These leaders demonstrated political courage by taking a stand for the public good in spite of pressure by interest groups, their political party, or even their constituents. The Profile in Courage Essay Contest challenges students to write an original and creative essay that demonstrates an understanding of political courage as described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage .

Contest Topic: Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917 , the year John F. Kennedy was born. Include an analysis of the obstacles, risks, and consequences associated with the act. The essay may concern an issue at the local, state, national, or international level.

The contest deadline is January 12, 2024.

Visit the Profile in Courage Essay Contest section of the JFK Library website for more requirements, judging criteria, past winning essays, and additional information.

Registration and Submission

Please read Contest Topic and Information carefully before submitting your essay. Essays must meet   contest requirements to qualify for evaluation.

The Profile in Courage Essay Contest has upgraded its registration and submission technology, and we now use the SurveyMonkey Apply platform. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact the Profile in Courage Essay Contest Coordinator.

Important Note: Before contacting the Profile in Courage Essay Contest Coordinator, please be sure to review the contest web pages and read over the FAQ section of the web site.

Email: [email protected]

Sep 1 2023 12:00 AM (EDT)

Jan 12 2024 11:59 pm (est).

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John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

One thing that quickly becomes apparent to high school students preparing for college is the burden of funding a four-year degree. Fortunately for college-bound students, there are numerous ways to reduce the cost of school. One of the most notable methods is pursuing a wide range of scholarships and awards. An award that students with exceptional writing and researching skills should consider is the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest.

About the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest

In 1954, John F. Kennedy took a leave of absence from the Senate to recover from back surgery. Kennedy used that time to study the topic of political courage, which inspired him to later write the Pulitzer-Prize winning book Profiles in Courage —detailing the careers of eight Senators whom Kennedy believed demonstrated enormous courage when faced with pressure from their parties and constituents.  

Today, the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest asks students to follow in Kennedy’s footsteps by researching and writing a creative original essay about an elected official who risked their career to take a stand on moral principles. The essay contest serves as a companion project to the Kennedy Library Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award, which honors elected officials who have demonstrated incredible political courage.

The winner of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest receives a $10,000 cash award and is invited to accept their prize at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts during the Profile in Courage Award events—with all travel and lodging expenses paid for. In addition to the award winner, the runner-up will receive a $3,000 award, the five finalists each receive $1,000 awards, and the eight semi-finalists are awarded $100 each.

In addition to the winners, ten students are selected for honorable mention and all participants receive a certificate of participation.

John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest Applicant Requirements

The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest is available to U.S. high school students in grades nine through twelve. Students need to be enrolled in a public, private, parochial, or homeschool high school program in one of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., or a U.S. territory. The contest also accepts submissions from U.S. citizens attending school overseas.

How to Apply

In order to participate in the Profile of Courage Essay Contest, students need to be recommended by a teacher who will support and advise the student in the creation of their essay. Nominating teachers can be former or current teachers of the applicant, but must still be still teaching at the school the participant is enrolled in. Rarely, an exception may be made if a student is unable to be nominated by a teacher from their school. For applicants who are homeschooled, the parent or legal guardian can fill the role of a nominating teacher.

An applicant’s essay is required to describe an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official on the local, state, or national level who served between 1917 (the year of Kennedy’s birth) and the present. Essays need to be an original work of the applicant and fall between 700 and 1,000 words—citations and bibliography do not count toward the word count. Additionally, applicants should cite a minimum of five sources.

John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy, along with the senators featured in Profiles of Courage are not eligible subjects for essays. It’s also recommended to avoid writing about present or past presidents of the United States.

Past winners of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest are not eligible to participate again. Employees of John Hancock Financial Services and their family members are also ineligible for the award.

Tips on Applying For Awards

Don’t Miss Deadlines: Pay close attention to deadlines and don’t wait until the last minute to submit your essay. The Profile in Courage Essay can be submitted via email or traditional mail. If you decide to submit your materials via traditional mail, the application must be postmarked on its due date.

Follow Directions: The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest has specific rules about how many words are allowed, sources needed, what information needs to be included, and how sources should be cited. It would be extremely disappointing to write a winning essay only to be disqualified because you made a mistake like forgetting to include a bibliography.

Proofread: Applicants for the Profile in Courage Essay Contest should work closely with their nominating teacher to ensure that they submit a clean essay free of grammatical, typographical, and spelling errors, along with making sure the essay flows and meets the submission requirements.

Research: In addition to researching for their essay, applicants should research past winners to get an understanding of what a winning essay looks like. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum maintains a list of winners and their essays on their website .  

Professional Appearance: When applying for any distinguished award, there’s a chance that your social media profiles will be looked at. Audit your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter profiles and delete any content that could be potentially damaging. While you’re at it, make sure you have a professional-looking email address to correspond with.

Get Professional Help: CollegeVine helps students win awards. Our expert advisors can provide whatever assistance a student needs, whether it’s staying ahead of deadlines or crafting an exceptional essay.

Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!

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2023 Profile in Courage highlights five South Carolina senators

This year's recipients of the Profile in Courage Awards is one very special group.

The 2023 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award will be presented to five South Carolina senators: Katrina Shealy, Margie Bright Matthews, Mia McLeod, Sandy Senn and Penry Gustafson. The women are known for forming a bipartisan coalition to filibuster a near-total abortion ban in their state. 

In April of this year, the five women helped block a near-total abortion ban, delivering speeches in which they highlighted the Senate's male majority and criticized it for pushing debates on abortion over other pressing issues, per the Associated Press.

The bill would have banned abortion at conception. Exceptions would be made for rape or incest through the first trimester, fatal fetal anomalies confirmed by two physicians and to save the patient’s life or health. As of Aug. 23, South Carolina upheld restrictions that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, per NBC News.

Since 1989, the Kennedy family and John F. Kennedy Library Foundation have presented the awards to public servants who have made impactful and life changing decisions regardless of personal or professional consequences.

This year, a special International Profile in Courage Award will honor South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They will be celebrated "for working to improve relations between their countries despite domestic opposition stemming from long-standing historical issues," per the press release.

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and her children, Jack Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, who are members of the Profile in Courage Award Committee, will present the honors on Oct. 29 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts.

“This year’s Profile in Courage Awards honor leaders who took stands of conscience and risked their careers by putting the public interest ahead of their own political standing,” said Kennedy in the press release. “The women of the South Carolina Senate set an example for those seeking justice and individual freedom at all levels of government. President Yoon and PM Kishida are doing the hard work of reconciliation in pursuit of a more peaceful world. All of the honorees demonstrate a commitment to democracy at a time when courage is required.”

Schlossberg added, “The women of the South Carolina Senate exemplify courage and cooperation in politics today. Facing intense opposition and personal attacks, Senators Shealy, Matthews, McLeod, Senn, and Gustafson worked together and across the aisle to oppose a total ban on abortion. Their impact extends beyond the state, inspiring Americans everywhere to keep fighting to protect individual rights.”

Last year, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Republican Rep. Liz Cheney were among the five people honored at the 2022 event.

The Profile in Courage Awards are named in honor of JFK’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1956 book “Profiles in Courage.”

Liz Calvario is a Los Angeles-based reporter and editor for TODAY.com who covers entertainment, pop culture and trending news.

JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest

In Profiles in Courage , John F. Kennedy recounted the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers to do what was right for the nation. These leaders demonstrated political courage by taking a stand for the public good in spite of pressure by interest groups, their political party, or even their constituents. The Profile in Courage Essay Contest challenges students to write an original and creative essay that demonstrates an understanding of political courage as described by John F. Kennedy in Profiles in Courage .

The maximum word count is 1,000 with a minimum of 700, not including citations and bibliography. Use at least five varied sources such as government documents, letters, newspaper articles, books, and/or personal interviews.

All submissions must adhere to contest requirements .

The contest deadline is January 12, 2024.

Describe and analyze an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917 , the year John F. Kennedy was born. Include an analysis of the obstacles, risks, and consequences associated with the act. The essay may concern an issue at the local, state, national, or international level.

Since originality is one of the criteria for judging, we strongly encourage students to profile an official in their town, state or region, or a leader who has addressed an issue of great concern to them. We advise students to avoid selecting a common essay subject.

To apply, click JFK .

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JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest

Offered by John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Multiple awards worth up to

Grade level.

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Expected deadline: This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.

January 2025

Scholarship Overview

Are you a U.S. high school student with a love for U.S. history? If so, we may have the perfect opportunity for you: the JFK Profile in Courage Essay Contest! Each year, the contest awards up to $10,000 to winning applicants who submit 700 – 1,000 word essays following the year’s prompt. Each year’s prompt relates to U.S. history, with this year’s being: “ Describe an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917, the year John F. Kennedy was born.” The scholarship is offered by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.

If you love U.S. history and want to put your writing skills and history knowledge to the test, we encourage you to apply!

Eligibility information

This scholarship is open to students meeting the below eligibility criteria.

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents

Political Science

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To apply for this scholarship, students must submit an online application in addition to the below application materials. Bear in mind that applicants must also have a “nominating teacher” who are currently teaching at the same high school as the applicant. Nominating teachers are responsible for providing advice and support to the student throughout the application process.

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GOP secretary of state who spoke out against election denialism wins JFK Profile in Courage Award

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Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams, who worked to expand early voting in the Bluegrass State and has spoken out against election denialism in his own party, has been chosen to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award this year.

In its announcement Monday, the JFK Library Foundation said Adams was recognized “for expanding voting rights and standing up for free and fair elections despite party opposition and death threats from election deniers.”

Adams — whose signature policy objective is to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat — was at the forefront of a bipartisan effort with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear that led to the enactment of 2021 legislation allowing for three days of no-excuse, early in-person voting — including on a Saturday — before Election Day. Adams hailed it as Kentucky’s most significant election law update in more than a century. About one-fifth of the Kentuckians who voted in last year’s statewide election did so during those three days of early, in-person voting, Adams’ office said Monday.

As his state’s chief election officer, Adams has pushed back forcefully against false claims about rigged elections, referring to election skeptics as “cranks and kooks.”

“There’s a lot of irresponsible chatter out there and demagoguery about us having hacked elections,” Adams said in a 2022 interview on Spectrum News 1. “It’s all hogwash. Our elections have never been hacked and are not hacked now.”

First elected in 2019, Adams won reelection by a wide margin last year after dominating his party’s primary , which included a challenger who promoted debunked election claims.

Adams, a Kentucky native and graduate of Harvard Law School, said Monday that Kennedy’s “admonition to put country before self still resonates today, and rings true now more than ever.”

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of election officials and poll workers across America who, inspired by his call, sacrifice to keep the American experiment in self-government alive,” he added.

Adams is part of an effort begun after the last presidential election that seeks to bring together Republican officials who are willing to defend the country’s election systems and the people who run them. They want officials to reinforce the message that elections are secure and accurate, which they say is especially important as the country heads toward another divisive presidential contest in November.

“It’s an obligation on Republicans’ part to stand up for the defense of our system because our party -- there’s some blame for where we stand right now,” Adams said recently. “But it’s also strategically wise for Republicans to say, ‘Hey Republicans, you can trust this. Don’t stay at home.’”

During a recent campaign rally, former President Donald Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for president this year — repeated his false claim that Democrats rigged the 2020 election.

Just 24% of Republicans said they had a great deal or quite a bit of confidence that votes will be counted accurately in the 2024 presidential election, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in December .

Adams is seen as a potential candidate for governor in 2027, when he and Beshear will be term-limited in their current jobs.

Honorary JFK Library Foundation President Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, will present the award to Adams on June 9 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

President Kennedy’s book, “Profiles in Courage,” recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. Past winners of the Profile in Courage Award include former U.S. presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama.

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Season 12, Episode 6: Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy - A Political Matriarch

About the episode.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was the mother of a 20th century political dynasty. In this episode, we’ll explore her history through the museum she helped create at the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts, and speak with historian Barbara Perry , author of Rose Kennedy: The Life and Times of a Political Matriarch .

What We Talked About

• Learn more about the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site
• Learn more about our guest  Barbara Perry
• View photos of Rose Kennedy in the JFK Library Digital Archives and read a brief biography
• Read a selection of letters from Rose Kennedy to her children
• View the full collection of Rose Kennedy’s personal papers (not all materials are available online)
• Learn more about Rose Kennedy’s father, John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, in our Season 10 Episode 7 “The City on a Hill”
• For teachers: see a classroom resource for Grades 3-5 about Rose Kennedy