Launched in 2010, the national essay contest is open to any student in grades 5 to 8 in the United States.

MAXCourage’s capstone essay encourages students from diverse backgrounds to use their writers’ voices and share personal narratives about exceptional acts of courage in their communities and in their lives. Thousands of students from Greater Boston and beyond write and submit essays each year—through MAXCourage’s in-school curriculum, after-school and summer programs, and independently.

Essay Guidelines

Essay Prompt

Driving Question: How have you experienced courage in your life?

A successful student author will write a complete personal narrative about a situation when they or someone they know were called to show courage, using narrative writing to communicate a larger idea or message about the role of courage in the student's life. Though our student authors’ story topics vary widely, the common theme of courage unites them all. (While we generally encourage students to tell a story about themselves, they may also choose to tell a story about how they grew personally from witnessing the courage of another person.) Click here to view a full description of the essay guidelines.

Eligibility & Entry Rules

  • All middle school (5th-8th) students in the United States are welcome to submit essays.

  • Essay submissions must be the student’s original work. Only 1 entry per student.

  • Essays should be around one page, preferably 550 words or less. There is no minimum word count. We prefer that essays be typed. Please refrain from including any graphics or images.

  • Submit each student’s essays and (the accompanying brief student information form) to the MAXCourage through our online submission platform. Teachers should fill out the online entry form once and attach all their students’ essays and information forms in a batch.

  • Beginning in SY22-23, MAXCourage transitioned to a blind, anonymous essay selection process, in order to protect students' privacy and to counteract potential unconscious bias in judging. To help our staff and volunteers ensure anonymous review, do not include identifying information such as student name, teacher name, or school name within the essay document itself. (For example, do not place a heading at the top of the essay.) Instead, include each student's name in their essay's FILE NAME (e.g., “Adam_Smith_Courage_Essay.docx”).

  • Submission deadline: All essays must be received by January 31, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Selection Process

In February, an experienced panel of volunteer judges—including writers, educators, and other community leaders—comes together to read every one of the thousands of essays submitted, and nominate a select number for publication in MAXCourage’s annual book. Essays are judged not based on the writer’s ability to channel their own unique voice in a complete personal narrative that reflects upon what courage means to them. Essays are reviewed anonymously, and judges agree to keep the content of the essays confidential. All essays are pre-screened by MAXCourage for content, to ensure the safety and well-being of students.

Publication and Recognition

Selected essays are printed in our annual publication, The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond. The published authors form the year’s cohort of MAXFellows, and receive prizes and recognition for their writing. Additionally, one student each year is chosen as the overall National Winner, and recognized by MAXCourage with a ceremony in their community.

Examples of winning essays can be found in past volumes of our annual essay publication. This collection of essays demonstrates the rich spectrum of experience, writing style, and ability that we celebrate in our programs. We invite you to explore these examples and share them.

National Winners

Each year, around 2% of submitted essays are printed in our annual publication, The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond. The published authors form the year’s cohort of MAXFellows, and receive prizes and recognition for their writing. Additionally, one student each year is chosen as the overall National Winner, and recognized by MAXCourage with a ceremony in their community.

2024 National Winner

Meet our 2024 Courage in My Life National Contest Winner!

Esme Fields from Community Preparatory School, Providence, RI!

In her words:

"Courage is getting up every day and choosing to do it the hard way, because it’s the only way that allows you to be yourself.”

Past Winners

2023 – Alejandro Roa Martinez, Community Preparatory School, Providence, RI

2022 – Aleena Sattar, Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI

2021 – Zaina Alatassi, Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI

2020 – Selma Atassi, Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI

2019 – Mayah White, Barnstable Intermediate School, Hyannis, MA

2018 – Rehma Saeed, Beverly Hills Academy, Beverly Hills, MI

2017 – Giuseppe Mazzella di Bosco, Good Hope Middle School, Mechanicsburg, PA

2016 – Munirat Ibrahim, The Bronx School of Young Leaders, Bronx, New York City, NY

2015 – Saniah Dawson, Malachi Wilkerson Middle School, Birmingham, AL

2014 – Kaesha Brown, Imagine Hope Community Public Charter School, Tolson Campus, Washington, DC

2013 Julency Myrtil, Cordova Middle School, Cordova, TN

 

“True courage is something we do not necessarily always see with our eyes. Many people think courage is saving a life or an obvious act of heroism, but courage can also be a quiet, less apparent action.”

— Student