2024-25 High School Essay Contest Winners

The Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture at the University of Portland is pleased to announce the award recipients of the 2024-25 Essay Contest.

Congratulations to the top winning and honorable mention essays!

Top Winners:
Bailey Brown, "Pinto Beans and Orange Trees: A Lonely Doll and Snapped Strings" Seton Catholic College Prep (WA)
Mekhi Gardner, "The Wonderful Story of Stink" De La Salle North Catholic High School (OR)

Honorable Mention Winners:
Juliette AuRuskin, "Camping Lessons and the Value of Community" St. Mary's Academy (OR)
Eilee Mucken, "The Wonder" Blanchet Catholic HS (OR)
Samantha Tapawan, "Everything But My Purpose Seasoning" Tri-Cities Prep (WA)

Read the winning essays compilation HERE.

The prompt for this year’s essay was inspired by Constitution 2: Mission of the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the religious community that founded and sponsors the University of Portland: "Wherever we work we assist others not only to recognize and develop their own gifts but also to discover the deepest longing in their lives."

The prompt:
Longing(s) - The deepest longing(s) in your life…your heart’s desire…your passion for being…whatever words we use, we believe that education should be transformational. Have you had a glimpse of your deepest longing(s)? Maybe it is more than a glimpse and has features you can describe. If not, how would you go about discovering it? How might learning to recognize and develop your gifts while you are in high school, and later in college, aid you in this journey of discovery?

To all the faculty and counselors who help support this annual contest, please accept our sincere appreciation. We received many fine submissions from juniors at Catholic high schools along the West Coast and Congregation of Holy Cross high schools across the county. Essays are judged anonymously, without names or school affiliations. Information regarding next year’s essay competition will be posted in the Fall of 2025.

Again, congratulations to the winners of the 2024-25 Garaventa Center High School Essay Contest!

The Garaventa Center for Catholic Intellectual Life and American Culture at the University of Portland exists to explore and deploy the fruits of faith, reason and imagination that constitute the Catholic intellectual tradition. We are especially committed to awakening and celebrating those gifts in young people, hence this annual essay contest, in which participants are encouraged to integrate faith, reason and the intellectual craft of writing a non-fiction, personal essay.