"You Will be Found" College Essay Writing Contest

The “You Will Be Found” College Essay Challenge is open to all 11th and 12th grade students attending a public, private, and charter high school or homeschool equivalent in the United States and American Territories during the 2021-2022 academic year. Challenge open to US residents only. Presented in partnership with the Broadway and National Tour productions of Dear Evan Hansen, the program recognizes excellence in storytelling and promotes student engagement with the production.

Dear Evan Hansen, at its core, is a story about connection. The theme for the 2021-2022 academic year is as follows:

Evan Hansen and his peers are coming of age, but the adults in their lives are in many ways still figuring themselves out, too. As you look ahead to life after high school and starting college, do you view this time in your life as a precipice or a continuum? Will you introduce a “new you” into a fresh community, or further shape the best version of yourself as you explore new horizons?

We invite you, the 11th-grade and 12th-grade students to write a college-application style essay (no longer than 650-words) that describes your experiences with or ideas about reinvention, at any stage of your life.