About the Contest
Our founder, William F. Buckley Jr., began his career as a public intellectual when he wrote God and Man at Yale, a scathing critique of his alma mater and its growing biases. Each summer, National Review Institute holds a student essay contest to promote thought and discussion surrounding one of William F. Buckley Jr.’s works. The winning essay is published on NationalReview.com.
2024 Contest
ELIGIBILITY
The contest is open to students who have just completed their freshman or sophomore year of college.
WORD COUNT
Students must submit an essay between 1,500 and 2,000 words on the topic below.
TOPIC
William F. Buckley Jr. was proudly patriotic. He loved his country and believed the U.S. Constitution to be the best governing document created by man. According to a June 2023 Gallup survey, only 39% of U.S. adults are “extremely proud” to be American. What do you think is causing patriotism to decline? What antidote would you prescribe? Can one both celebrate America and its history and recognize its flaws?
PRIZES
The first-place winner’s essay will be published on NationalReview.com. The winner will also be featured in an NRI forum with NR writers, be interviewed on an official NR podcast, and receive fun swag.
DEADLINE
The essay contest is now closed. The deadline was 11:59PM ET on August 2, 2024.
OTHER QUESTIONS?
Write to us at buckleyessay@nrinstitute.org.
2024 Contest Winner
John Hatzis’s winning essay titled “Rescuing Patriotism in a Nation on the Brink” was published on NationalReview.com on September 13, 2024. Read it here. As a part of John’s winnings, he will participate in a virtual forum, where he will be interviewed by the William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism, Haley Strack.
John currently studies history and philosophy at Grove City College, and he is part of the class of 2027. On campus he competes in debate, serves as a tour guide, and participates in a variety of musical and theatrical performance groups. John is from Stafford, Virginia. He first encountered National Review in middle school when his father subscribed to the magazine. In his free time, John enjoys being in nature and listening to audiobooks.
2023 Contest Winner
Caleb Nunes’s winning essay titled “Conservatives Must Reclaim the Founders’ Vision” was published on NationalReview.com on September 8, 2023. Read it here. As a part of Caleb’s winnings, he participated in a virtual forum for our supporters, where he was interviewed by the Rhodes Journalism Fellow, Dominic Pino.
Caleb currently studies Chemical Engineering at Northwestern University. He is part of the class of 2026 and is a reporter for The Daily Northwestern. He was born in Richmond, Virginia but grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He first encountered National Review in the summer of 2022 when reading The Right by Matthew Continetti. He enjoys writing for his school newspaper and training for triathlons in his free time.
2021 Contest Winner
Michael Samaritano’s winning essay titled “Conservatives, Don’t Give Up on Yale” was published on NationalReview.com on September 22, 2021. Read it here. As a part of Michael’s winnings, he participated in a virtual forum for our supporters, where he was interviewed by WFB Journalism Fellow Jimmy Quinn. Additionally, Michael was featured as a guest on one of NR‘s podcasts and we highlighted him in our 2021 End of Year newsletter.
Michael was born and raised in Huntington, New York. He attended Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York. Now at Yale, he plans to study History and Philosophy. Outside of the classroom, he is an active member of the Federalist Party, the Thomistic Institute, the William F. Buckley, Jr. Program, and the Saint Thomas More Catholic Center.
