Profile in Courage High School Awards

Scholarship Sponsored by John F. Kennedy Library Foundation

Eligibility
You may enter if you are a U.S. high school student in grades 9–12 (public, private, parochial, or home school). Also eligible are U.S. students under age 20 enrolled in a high school correspondence or GED program anywhere in the 50 states, D.C., or U.S. territories, and U.S. citizens attending schools overseas. Past winners and finalists are not eligible. Employees of the contest sponsors and their immediate family members are also ineligible.

Deadline and length
The deadline is January 12, 2026, at 11:59 PM (EST).
Your essay must be between 700 and 1,000 words. Citations and the bibliography do not count toward the word total.

Originality, AI, and plagiarism
Your essay must be your own original work. Essays will be checked for plagiarism and for AI assistance. If any portion of the essay or bibliography shows evidence of AI use, the entry will be disqualified. Follow good research and citation practices — see the contest’s Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism.

Anonymity
Do not include any identifying information about yourself in the body of the essay.

Topic rules
- Your essay must describe an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official who served during or after 1917 (the birth year of John F. Kennedy). The official’s courageous act can be at the local, state, or national level.
- John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward M. Kennedy may not be the subjects of essays.
- Essays about the senators featured in the original book Profiles in Courage are not allowed.
- Essays about past recipients of the Profile in Courage Award will be disqualified unless they focus on a different act of political courage than the one for which the award was previously given. Note: John Lewis received a Profile in Courage Award for Lifetime Achievement; essays about him are therefore disqualified.
- Because originality is an important judging criterion, commonly chosen subjects and subjects used in past winning essays will generally receive lower scores.

Sources and citation requirements
- You must list at least five sources. Essays that list fewer than five sources will be disqualified.
- Cite your sources within the text using parenthetical citations (in-text citations). Footnotes are not accepted.
- Include a bibliography formatted in APA, MLA, or Turabian style. Follow the contest’s Guidelines for Citations and Bibliographies.

Nominating teacher
- Every entrant must provide the name of a nominating teacher on the registration form. The nominating teacher’s role is to advise and support you during the writing process, read your essay, and suggest improvements. They should check for grammar, spelling, syntax, and that your essay meets all contest requirements.
- Nominating teachers can be current or former teachers but must be teaching at the same high school as the entrant. In rare circumstances, exceptions may be made if the student cannot secure a teacher from their high school.
- For homeschooled students, the parent or legal guardian responsible for instruction may serve as nominating teacher. Alternatively, a high school teacher from a previous school may serve if that teacher emails essaycontest@jfklfoundation.org confirming their role.
- The first-place winner and their nominating teacher will be invited to the Profile in Courage Award ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

A final word from your teacher
Treat this as a research paper: pick a less obvious subject to stand out, document every source carefully, keep your voice honest and original, and have your nominating teacher help you polish the final draft before you submit. If you follow the rules above, you’ll give yourself the best chance in the competition. Good luck.