Profile in Courage High School Awards

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated to the memory of our nation's thirty-fifth president and to all those who through the art of politics seek a new and better world.

Located on a ten-acre park, overlooking the sea that he loved and the city that launched him to greatness, the Library stands as a vibrant tribute to the life and times of John F. Kennedy.

Come tour our Museum which portrays the life, leadership, and legacy of President Kennedy, conveys his enthusiasm for politics and public service, and illustrates the nature of the office of the President.

Students and scholars can also arrange to conduct research using our collection of historical materials chronicling mid-20th century politics and the life and administration of John F. Kennedy.

Eligibility and Requirements

The contest is open to:

• United States high school students in grades nine through twelve attending public, private, parochial, or home schools;
• U.S. students under the age of twenty enrolled in a high school correspondence/GED program in any of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or the U.S. territories;
• U.S. citizens attending schools overseas

Past winners and finalists are not eligible to participate. Employees of sponsors and members of their families are not eligible to participate.

Requirements

• The contest deadline is in January at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is not responsible for late, misdirected, ineligible, or incomplete submissions.
• The maximum word count is 1,000 with a minimum of 700. Citations in parenthesis and the bibliography are not included in the word count.
• Essays must be the original work of the student. Essays will be reviewed for AI assistance and are disqualified if AI is detected at any point in the essay or bibliography. See Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism.
• Essays must have a minimum of five sources.
• Essay uploads should not include identifying information about the student, including in the name of the saved file.
• Decisions of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation are final.
• By entering, you agree that your essay will become the property of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and will not be returned. The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation reserves the right to print and display the essays and photographs of the contest winners.

Essay Subjects

• Essays must 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 official may have addressed an issue at the local, state, or national level. See Helpful Tips for Writing Your Essay for more information.
  • Please note: the act of courage must have also taken place during or after 1917.
• Since originality is one of the criteria for judging, writing about any of these common essay subjects will lower your score.
• John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy are not eligible subjects for essays.
• Essays about past recipients of the Profile in Courage Award will be disqualified unless they describe an act of political courage other than the act for which the award was given.
  • Please note: John Lewis received the Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement. As such, any essays about him will be disqualified.
• Essays about the senators in Profiles in Courage will be disqualified.
• Essays about subjects from past winning essays will receive a lower score.

Source Material

• Essays with fewer than five listed sources will be disqualified.
• All participants must cite sources they used to research their topic throughout their essay. Please use parenthetical citations within the text.
• Essays must include a bibliography. Accepted formats include APA, MLA, or Turabian. See how to construct a bibliography.

Nominating Teachers

• All students must list the name of their nominating teacher when submitting their essay. The role of a nominating teacher is to provide students with support and advice during the writing of their essay. Nominating teachers are also asked to read students' essays to make suggestions for improvement before they are submitted to the essay contest. As part of this review process, the nominating teacher reviews the essay for syntax, grammatical, typographical and spelling errors and ensures the essay meets the contest requirements listed above. The first-place winner and their nominating teacher, as representatives of their school, will be invited to receive awards at the annual Profile in Courage Award ceremony held at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.
• Nominating teachers can be former or current teachers, but must still be teaching at the same high school as the essay participant. Usually, students ask their English or History/Social Studies teachers. In very few cases, we will make an exception if a student is unable to ask a teacher from their high school to be their nominating teacher. The parent or legal guardian responsible for the instruction of home-schooled students can also serve as a nominating teacher. Homeschooled students also have the option to have a high school teacher from a previous school serve as their nominating teacher if the teacher emails essaycontest@jfklfoundation.org confirming this.