Thousands of Aspiring College Students Share Their Experiences in Essays in the Quest for Scholarships and National Recognition as Talented Young Writers

Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions and Newsweek magazine have announced the winners of the 15^th Annual “My Turn” Essay Competition, a national contest that recognizes talented young writers. Submissions from 20 teens representing 12 different states and Canada earned winners’ status. To help evaluate the essays and award $15,000 to the top winners, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions and Newsweek assembled a panel of accomplished academics and writers.

For her first-place winning essay, “Do You Have a Son?”, Maile Gove, 17, Denver, Colorado, will be awarded $5,000. In her personal story, she describes how a question asked of her during a humanitarian trip to the slums of Cape Town, South Africa both shocked and inspired. Maile, a violin teacher and gymnast, graduated from the Denver Center for International Studies in 2009 and will attend Seattle Pacific University in the fall. She plans to major in linguistics. From Maile’s essay:

“The homes of Khayelitisha have scrap metal walls, the kind that are less than a centimeter thick, the kind that absorb enough heat to produce serious burns when touched on a very hot day, the kind that rust in the rain. The image should be growing clearer now.”

The second-place winner, Carol Kim, 17, of Baltimore, Maryland, earned a $2,000 prize with her moving essay “My Brother Charles,” in which she discusses how her developmentally challenged, autistic younger brother has helped her to appreciate the good life she enjoys. Carol is a senior at the Bryn Mawr School for Girls, where she is editor-in-chief of both the newspaper, The Quill and the school literary magazine, Melange. She is also an avid volunteer for organizations that help special needs children. After college, Carol plans to go into a career in journalism. From Carol’s essay:

“One day, after he dismantled what must have been his tenth VCR, splattered soup all over the living room walls, and slapped me in the face, I screamed that my greatest wish was that he would die. I don’t think he understood me; I hope he didn’t understand me.”

Eight additional winners will be awarded $1,000 each. Winning essay topics included: how the beauty of a remote town in Alaska helped shape one teen’s outlook on life; fighting homophobia; how Alzheimer’s affected the mind, but not the spirit of one teen’s grandmother; a Holocaust survivor’s special gift to his grandson; how small towns can sometimes be home to some the most interesting places to visit; how a father’s love for his family inspired his child’s own “American Dream”; why volunteering at a nursing home left one teen exhausted, but content; the struggles and joys of a child and her family after a father’s life-changing car accident. Ten additional students earned an honorable mention for their essays and each will receive a free Kaplan SAT or ACT classroom course.

Open to all high school students, the essay competition was created in 1994 to help students meet the rising costs of college and to offer a forum for expressing their points of view. Since then, this forum has provided tens of thousands of students with the opportunity to share their dreams, struggles, observations, and questions as they confront challenges on their paths to adulthood.

The 2009 Kaplan/Newsweek “My Turn” Essay contest winners are:

Honorable Mention recognition goes to:

This year’s distinguished judges for the competition included:

• Doug Bennett: The president of Earlham College in Indiana since July 1997 and also a professor of politics at the school, his scholarly publications include many articles on topics in public policy and in higher education.
• Hank Herman: Hank is the author of the informative and irreverent “Accept My Kid, Please!: A Dad's Descent into College Application Hell.”
• Alyse Myers: Alyse is the author of “Who Do You Think You Are?: A Memoir,” which chronicles her challenging childhood and how it shaped her future professional and personal success.
• Adam Rapp: A novelist, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and musician, Rapp is the author of numerous young adult novels, including “Missing the Piano,” “The Buffalo Tree,” “The Copper Elephant,” “Little Chicago,” “33 Snowfish” and “Punkzilla.” He directed the 2005 Will Ferrell film Winter Passing and is currently a member of the music group, Less the Band.
• Frederic Tuten: A novelist, short story writer and essayist who served as a judge for the 2002 Pulitzer Prizes, Tuten has written five novels – “The Adventures of Mao on the Long March,” “Tallien: A Brief Romance,” “Tintin in the New World: A Romance,” “Van Gogh's Bad Café” and “The Green Hour” – as well as short stories and essays.

For more information, visit www.kaptest.com/myturn.

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Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions (www.kaptest.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings and a complete array of books and software, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as English language and professional licensing exams. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and college and graduate admissions consulting services.

About Newsweek

Providing in-depth analysis and insight into the news that matters most, NEWSWEEK drives and shapes global conversations, getting to the point of today’s complex issues. NEWSWEEK refers to its audience as the “Thinking Person,” a loyal, international base of millions of educated, affluent individuals who are passionate about the news. Winner of more National Magazine Awards than any other newsweekly, NEWSWEEK speaks with consistency across all platforms. Conversation begins in the pages of the magazine and immediately moves to the Web where an interactive debate ensues. Each day, NEWSWEEK.COM brings its readers the highest quality reporting, intelligently curating the best of the Web: from NEWSWEEK exclusives, to daily topics of interest covered by media leaders, to user generated content.

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Kaplan, Inc.
Russell Schaffer, 212-453-7538
russell.schaffer@kaplan.com