The Independent Women's Forum is pleased to announce the thirty finalists for our first annual essay contest. We asked college students to write on what it means to be an independent woman today. The thirty finalists were chosen from more than 2,000 entries! It was truly a difficult decision to choose from the many outstanding essays we received from young women across the nation. Each essay offered a unique and intriguing perspective on the assigned topic.
Ultimately, these essays were clear standouts and our finalists should be very proud of their accomplishment of getting this far in the contest. The finalists' essays have been forwarded to our prestigious panel of judges who will make the final decision and award the prizes among this group. Winners will be announced in April. The winning essay will be published in our next newsletter and all of our award winners essays will be featured on IWF's website this spring.
Maureen Campbell, American University
Emilee Cunningham, University of California San Diego
Lindy Dinklage, George Washington University
Kimberly Drewett, University of St. Andrews
Sarah Eisenhandler, Brandeis University
Cori Fitzgerald, Lutheran School of Nursing
Ashley Fogle, Texas Christian University
Nancy Gabel, University of Missouri-Columbia
Amanda Gatewood, University of Kentucky
Samantha Hill, Central Missouri State University
Trysha Jean, Eastern Maine Community College
Meredith Jessup, George Washington University
Sejla Karalic, University of Akron
Lindsay Kerrigan, Indiana University
Caroline Kocher, Gettysburg College
Laura Kochmit, University of South Florida
Katherine Konrad, University of St. Thomas
Barbara McFadden, Sul Ross State University-Rio Grande College
Alice Ohaeri, Lorain County Community College
Christina Parmer, Solano Community College
Andrea Powers, Prairie View A & M University
Lauren Racine, Gettysburg College
Maryann Sanders, University of Pittsburgh
Indu Shanmugam, Concordia University
Danielle Sturgis, Drake University
Nastassia Urlapava-Hill, Colorado Mountain College-CU Boulder
Alexandra Valenti, George Washington University
Juliann Vikse, Princeton University
Licia Yanez, Duke University