First Place
University of Missouri
$3,000 Scholarship
Aidan Dow, from Palos, Ill., poses for a portrait while dressed as Nightwing from the DC Universe at Fan Expo Chicago 2023 on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.
William Nørmark, 6, peeks out from the inside of a makeshift spacecraft at Aarhus University's Steno Museet on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023 in Aarhus, Denmark. Museums around Aarhus had extra activities and exhibitions during the student's winter holiday.
A person jumps into Lake Michigan at Montrose Harbor during the tenth week of Friday Morning Swim Club on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023 in Chicago, Ill. The club started in 2021 as eight friends meeting up at Montrose Harbor every Friday morning to swim and catch up before the weekend. That summer, the club grew to around 700 people through word of mouth, and today, over 3,000 people flock to the harbor to swim each Friday morning.
Twins Jesenia and Jasi Barry, 9, from New Jersey, protect themselves from heavy rain by holding a coat over their heads while walking south on Michigan Avenue on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Chicago, Ill.
Birding volunteer Michael Colley untangles a screaming bird from one of the volunteer’s 18 mist nets, a thin net that catches birds in flight, on Sunday, April 16, 2023 in Skagen, Denmark. At the northern tip of Denmark, a small group of volunteers living in the Skagen Grey Lighthouse are responsible for collecting data on a common yet essential animal- birds. The volunteers, who usually stay at the station in Skagen for a handful of months, are often awake long before sunrise and work until sundown, adapting to a limited sleep schedule in order to maximize data collection. Ringing sessions, which involve attaching a small ring to the bird’s leg, are essential for tracking bird migration. These sessions require the volunteers to be awake by 3 a.m. during the first weeks of April and even earlier during the summer months. The volunteers regularly capture, ring and release over 50 birds a day when the mist nets are set up.
Civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., center, greets attendees of an ’84-’88 presidential campaign reunion on Friday, July 14, 2023 at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Community Hall in Chicago, Ill. Jackson had stepped down as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition earlier in the day, passing on his leadership role after founding the organization in 1971.
Former Lindblom Math and Science Academy Principal Abdul Muhammad, center, is flanked by supporters before speaking in a press conference at the Chicago Public Schools Central Office on Thursday, July 6, 2023 in Chicago, Ill. Nine principals have been removed pending discipline or investigations into “serious misconduct” in recent years. Of those, six are Black men. In a report released by Chicago Public Schools, Muhammad is said to have failed to properly report a sexual assault charge that occurred at Lindblom. Muhammad refuted these claims in the press conference.
People lean out of a N. Halsted Street window as the 2023 Chicago Pride Parade goes by on Sunday, June 25, 2023 in Chicago, Ill.