Mike will be entering his senior year this fall at Pineville High School in Pineville, Louisiana. He is the state president of the Louisiana chapter of the Youth Art Council of America; is a Key Club officer; is active in Student Council; National Honors Society and Citizenship Committee; and has been selected for Boys' State. Mike has placed highly in national debate tournaments and was also an attorney on a mock trial team that placed among the top five in the nation. He spends most of his spare time working on new art pieces and has won several statewide art competitions. He played on the varsity basketball team his freshman and sophomore years and now plays varsity tennis. Mike enjoys hard-core ping-pong matches, volleyball, activities with his church group, and drinking Dr. Pepper.

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Maine
Ms. Laila Sholtz-Ames
"Africa's Forgotten Wars: Angola, Ethiopia, and Eritrea"
Alternative Education Services
Exeter, ME
Coordinator: Dr. Laura Sholtz

Born in Dallas, Texas, Laila moved to Exeter, Maine, when she was just five weeks old, and currently lives there with her mother, a teacher who home schools her, and her father, who is also a teacher. Laila also lives with her older sister, along with seven cats and two chickens; she has an older brother living in California. Laila has been in her local 4-H Club for over ten years, having been awarded her ten-year pin, ten first-place ribbons, three judges' awards in the science fair, and third place in a poster contest. Her community involvement includes ten years as a volunteer at Acadia National Park, being published in a local newspaper three times and twice being an honorary page at the Maine House of Representatives. Laila has also been a Girl Scout for ten years, having earned the Bronze Award - the highest award in Junior Girl Scouts - and is working on the Silver Award - the highest award in Cadets. Laila was also awarded the President's Award for her outstanding service to Girl Scouts. She enjoys reading, writing, hiking, biking, collecting stickers and coins, roller-blading, surfing the web, camping, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends. Laila hopes to major in journalism and communications or international affairs in college.

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Maryland
Ms. Sarah Calderone
"Only the dead have seen the end of war."
Walter Johnson High School
Bethesda, MD
Coordinator: Mr. Theisen Healey

Sarah lives in Bethesda, Maryland. She stays busy playing soccer, running track, tutoring a fourth grade and a sixth grade student and interning at an elementary school. Sarah is also active in the L'Arche community for mentally handicapped adults. She is in the National Honor Society and the Asian American Club and is recognized in the President's Education Awards Program for Outstanding Achievement. Well traveled, Sarah has been to Costa Rica, Bolivia, Peru, Israel, Sweden, Norway, France and England. Following high school, Sarah intends to study elementary education at Westminster College.

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Massachusetts
Mr. Aaron Souza
"Justifying War: The United States in World War II and the Persian Gulf"
Mt Greylock Regional High School
Williamstown, MA
Coordinator: Mr. Tom Murray

Aaron is 16 years old and is finishing his junior year at Mt. Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He is active in the Junior Classical League, and has won four gold medals in the National Latin Exam. In addition Aaron is a writer for the school newspaper and has acted in many school productions. He is a member of the cross-country ski team, and has recently joined the golf team. Aaron has organized and performed in a high-school musician recital series at a local assisted-living facility. He also works part-time on the kitchen staff at a local golf course and is able to deep-fry anything in 45 seconds. He is currently deciding where he wants to apply to college; wherever he goes, he intends to major in classics.

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Michigan
Ms. Zahreen Ghaznavi
"Israel and NATO: Balancing the Morality of War"
Community High School
Ann Arbor, MI
Coordinator: Ms. Judith DeWoskin

Zahreen lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she attends Community High School, an alternative public school in her district. She loves to read; it is her favorite pasttime. Zahreen also enjoys cooking and music. Her extracurricular activities include mock trial, debate, Federal Reserve Challenge, and newspaper. Zahreen's mock trial team won the state championship this year and is going to New Orleans to participate in the national competition. Following high school, she plans to go to college and major in political science and philosophy. Zahreen's favorite color is blue, month is March, season is spring and song is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.

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Minnesota
Nedim Durakovic
"War in Pursuit of a Greater Peace"
The Blake School
Minneapolis, MN

Nedim was born in Mostar, a diverse, historic town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. War broke out in 1992, forcing his family to flee, eventually taking refuge in the United States. His experiences have fostered a curiosity for exploring the modern world and history. At the Blake School in Minnesota, Nedim has taken almost every history class offered. He received the AP Scholar with Distinction award as a junior for the AP American History European History, World History and Chemistry examinations. In his Global Communities class, he represented Turkey in the Model UN and was later chosen as chairperson. Nedim is also on his school's speech team, where he has placed in state tournaments. In addition, Nedim is editor-in-chief of the school yearbook and is a starter on the football team. Outside of school, Nedim tutors immigrants at another school; over the summers, he translates educational brochures for the American Cancer Society and works at a local hospital. Following high school, Nedim will attend Brown University, where he looks forward to expanding his knowledge of history. His career plans are centered around the health field.

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Mississippi
Mr. Bryan Norwood
"Just War and a Christian Worldview"
Madison Central High School
Madison, MS
Coordinator: Ms. Susan Shivers

Bryan is a senior at Madison Central High School in Madison, Mississippi. He plans on attending Mississippi State University this fall and majoring in Architecture. He is the captain of the all-superior Madison Central Drumline, and led them to a first-place finish in the state marching band competition. He is currently teaching private drum lessons to beginning students. Bryan is also a dedicated member of Academic Decathlon, Government Club, Big Brother Big Sister mentoring, Mu Alpha Theta, and his church youth group.

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Missouri
Ms. Marjorie Harrington
"Justifying War
Metro Academic and Classical High School
St Louis, MO
Coordinator: Mr. Wade Mayham

Marjorie is a freshman at Metro Academic and Classical High School in St. Louis, Missouri where she plays in the Jazz Band and in the Concert Band. She is a junior member of the debate squad and is, with a couple of opinionated friends, starting a political discussion club. Her hobbies include raising freshwater fish; she is also a member of the school Aquarium Club. Occasionally Marjorie volunteers for her church and is constantly reading, especially political commentary, science fiction, and fantasy. Marjorie enjoys participating in math, science, spelling, and writing contests and has had moderate success. After high school, she plans to go to college and study law or political science.

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Montana
Ms. Alicia Warden
"The Definition of a "Just War" Needs Re-evaluation: Peaceful Solutions Can Be Achieved"
Sentinel High School
Missoula, MT
Coordinator: Ms. Sue Babcock

Alicia lives in Missoula, Montana where she is involved in many activities, especially those that are offered at school. She is committed to the objectives of Amnesty International, a human rights organization trying to achieve fundamental rights for everyone in the world. She also participates in Model United Nations, Speech & Debate, National Forensic League, National Honor Society, and French Club. She has been swimming since she was seven and enjoys throwing the shot put. She volunteers her time by tutoring and helping kids learn to ride horses at the camp where she worked as a camp counselor. After high school, she will attend West Virginia University and major in Pre-Latent Fingerprint Identification.

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Nebraska
Ms. Katie Scott
"The Justification of the Persian Gulf and Vietnam Wars"
Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
Omaha, NE
Coordinator: Ms. Terri Anania

Bio not available.

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Nevada
Mr. Christopher M Jackson
"The Path to War: A Conservative Utilitarian Analysis of International Conflict"
Reno High School
Reno, NV
Coordinator: Ms. Cathy Retterer

Chris is an aspiring philosopher from Reno, NV. Chris loves philosophy. While some people believe it's just some kind of intellectual word game played by lazy scholars who have nothing better to do, Chris thinks that understanding the way great thinkers perceive the world is one of the most significant activities a person can participate in. Chris has done other things with his time, however: tutoring younger students, playing varsity tennis, participating in mock trials and doing forensics. But even through all of these activities, Chris has always found himself drawn into that world of answering the "really tough" questions.

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New Hampshire
Mr. Nate Lavey
"From California to Srebrenica: Rejection of a Just War"
Home School
Dunbarton, NH
Coordinator: Ms. Roberta Lavey

Nate lives in the small town of Dunbarton, New Hampshire, the birthplace of American Liberty. He attends the Derryfield School in nearby Manchester. In the fall, Nate will attend Reed College in Portland, Oregon. He likes to ski whenever he can in the winter and enjoys rock climbing in the summer. Nate loves to read philosophy, particularly that of the French existentialists.

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New Jersey
Mr. Andrew Colbert
"The Just War: Last Resort and Self-Defense in the Falklands and Afghanistan"
Home School
Lindenwold, NJ
Coordinator: Mr. Jay Colbert

Andrew is a 15 year-old homeschooled high school junior and is the oldest of eight children in his family. He currently resides in Lindenwood, New Jersey but will soon move to Grove City, Pennsylvania. Andrew's interests include current events, politics, the military, aviation, and Pittsburgh Steelers football. He also enjoys writing and is the current events columnist for a monthly home school newsletter. Andrew is a Cadet Master Sergeant in the Civil Air Patrol. After graduation, he hopes to attend one of the U.S. military service academies.

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New Mexico
Mr. Terence M Merritt
"Justum Bellum"
Los Alamos High School
Los Alamos, NM
Coordinator: Ms. Nancy Schick

Terence is a graduate of Los Alamos High School in New Mexico. His favorite subjects in school are geography and history. He has been active in Boy Scouts, leading his troop as Senior Patrol Leader and achieving the rank of Eagle. Terence will be attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall where he plans to major in political science with a possible second major in history. After college, Terence would like to pursue a career as an intelligence analyst for the government.

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New York
Ms. Julie Cooper
"Just War Doctrine: East Timor versus the Al-Aqsa Intifada"
Hunter College High School
New York, NY
Coordinator: Mr. Irving Kagan

Bio not available.

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North Carolina
Mr. Edward Su
"Just War Thinking for the Twenty-First Century: A Globalist Perspective"
NC EFC Church Youth Group
Cary, NC
Coordinator: Ms. JoAnn Su

Edward is a student at Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. He first became interested in international relations after becoming addicted to the board game Diplomacy. However, his first real exposure to foreign policy analysis came in the ninth grade, when he joined his high school debate team. The values debate event and related reading introduced Edward to a variety of current ethical issues ranging from nuclear deterrence to globalization. This fall, he decided to enter the National Peace Essay Contest because of his strong interest in the Essay's topic. In high school, Edward spent much of his extracurricular time conducting physics research. Last summer, he attended the Research Science Institute at MIT, where he studied the interaction between electrons and units of vibrational energy. In his free time, Edward enjoys playing the cello, orienteering, and old Super Nintendo video games.

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North Dakota
Mr. Ryan R Thoreson
"World War II and Chechnya: The Past and Future of Just War Doctrine"
Shanley High School
Fargo, ND
Coordinator: Ms. Cathy Schwinden

Ryan lives in Fargo, North Dakota, but plans to move to Boston and attend Harvard University next fall. After completing an undergraduate degree in government, he hopes to join the Peace Corps before eventually attending graduate school overseas. In his community, Ryan has been active as a volunteer at Villa Maria Nursing Home and the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre. Last year, he also helped coordinate his church's book read on race and social justice in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Each year, he helps plan and participates in his youth group's 30 Hour Famine to raise awareness for hunger campaigns in third world nations. For the last two years, he has co-chaired a charity speech tournament that raised over $5,000 for the YWCA's Rape and Abuse Crisis Center and a social justice fund that brings affordable healthcare to impoverished communities. He is a member of Amnesty International and recently wrote a meditation on peace for the Presentation Sisters' newsletter. At school, he holds office as the Student Body Secretary/Treasurer, Key Club Vice President, French Club President, National Honor Society President, and National Forensic League Vice President. Additionally, speech, debate, and student congress have brought him to competitions around the nation. Ryan placed in the top sixty nationwide in U.S. Extemporaneous Speaking at the 2001 Oklahoma Nationals, was recognized as a top speaker at the 2001 Glenbrooks tournament, and was a semi-finalist at this year's Harvard National Congress. This year, he received the Fargo-Moorhead Human Rights Award and was a member of the silver All-State Academic Team. Ryan eventually hopes to become a diplomat or human rights attorney.

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