2024 MARYKNOLL STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST RULES

Rules

ELIGIBILITY: The Maryknoll Student Essay Contest (the “Contest”) is open only to people who are enrolled in a Catholic school, Catholic religious education program, or Catholic youth ministry program in grades 6–8 (Division I) and grades 9–12 (Division II) for the 2024-2025 school year and, as of the date of entry and the date on which the prize is offered (if applicable), are a resident of one of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or a province of Canada (except Quebec). Children of Maryknoll employees, associates and affiliates are not eligible. Eligibility determinations will be made by Sponsor in its discretion and will be final and binding. Void where prohibited by law.

HOW TO ENTER: The entry period for the Contest begins at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on August 16, 2024 and ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on November 18, 2024 (the “Entry Period”). To enter the Contest, entrants must submit an essay written by the entrant (“Essay”) that complies with the following submission guidelines: (a) the Essay must be written in English and must be approximately 500-750 words; (b) the Contest’s theme (“Share a personal story about a time when hope played an important role in your life. Describe the situation, how you felt, and what gave you hope during that time. Explain how this experience impacted you and what you learned about the importance of hope.”) must be at the heart of the Essay; and (c) the Essay must comply with all requirements set forth in these Official Rules, including the Submission Guidelines set forth below. Sponsor’s determination as to whether an entrant’s Essay complies with these Official Rules will be final and binding. There are two ways to enter the Contest.

Online Entry: To enter the Contest online, during the Entry Period, entrants must visit the website located at MaryknollSociety.org/Essay (the “Website”) and follow the on-screen entry instructions. Online entry is limited to only those entrants who are 13 years old or older at the start of the Entry Period (younger Entrants may submit their essay by mail). Each entrant who enters online will be required to upload his or her Essay to the Website and complete and submit the Contest entry form. Online entries must comply with all technical specifications provided on the Website (including those relating to approved file formats for the Essay) and must be submitted and received by Sponsor prior to the conclusion of the Entry Period. Entry times will be determined using Sponsor’s computer, which will be the official clock for the Contest. Normal time rates, if any, charged by the entrant’s Internet service provider will apply. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of an entrant, the entry will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry (i.e., the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address).

Entry by Mail: To enter the Contest by mail or delivery, entrants must send to Sponsor at the address specified in Section 12 below a package containing a printed copy of the entrant’s Essay and a legibly completed Contest entry form. The package must be sent either via U.S. mail with proper postage affixed, or by a major courier that regularly delivers to New York City (for example, FedEx or U.P.S.) with all delivery charges prepaid. Contest entry forms will be made available on the Website and in some promotional materials for the Contest. Entrants can also request a printed copy of the Contest entry form by sending Sponsor a self-addressed, stamped envelope as described in Section 12 below. Mailed entries must be postmarked or provided to the courier service by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 18, 2024, and must be received by Sponsor by no later than December 1, 2024.

General Entry Terms and Conditions: Completion of the Contest entry form will require that the entrant provide his or her name, e-mail address (optional for entrants submitting the Contest entry form by mail), and such other information as Sponsor may require. There is a limit of one entry per person. Each Essay may be submitted only once. If a particular Essay is submitted more than once, Sponsor will have the right to disqualify all entrants who submitted the Essay. Essay will not be returned. Each entrant must keep a copy of his or her Essay for his or her own records. Sponsor will not be responsible for lost, damaged, stolen or mislaid Essay.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: All Essays submitted in the Contest must comply with the following guidelines: (i) Entries must be written in English; (ii) Entries should be 500–750 words; (iii) The core theme of the Essay is to describe “Share a personal story about a time when hope played an important role in your life. Describe the situation, how you felt, and what gave you hope during that time. Explain how this experience impacted you and what you learned about the importance of hope.”; (iv) the entrant’s name and division must appear on each page of the essay; (v) Essays submitted online must be uploaded to the Website in a single electronic file in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF file format, and named in accordance with the following naming convention: “[ESSAY TITLE] – [FULL NAME OF ENTRANT]”; (vi) Essays submitted by mail or courier must not be bound; (vii) the Essay must be original and have been written solely by the entrant; including without the use of artificial intelligence (viii) the Essay must not previously have been published or won any award; (ix) the Essay must not contain any material that violates or infringes upon the rights of any third party, including without limitation any copyright, trademark or rights of privacy or publicity, or that is defamatory, unlawful or in violation of or contrary to any applicable law or regulation; and (x) the Essay must not contain any material that Sponsor, in its sole discretion, deems inappropriate for public viewing.

SUBMISSION RELEASE: By submitting an Essay, and in consideration of the review by the Judges (as defined in Section 5) of such Essay, each entrant irrevocably agrees to the following: The entrant understands and agrees that Sponsor does not undertake to consider the Essay in confidence. The entrant acknowledges that Sponsor must disclose the Essay to various employees of Sponsor, and may disclose the Essay to those outside Sponsor’s employ, in connection with the judging and winner selection process pursuant to these Official Rules. It is understood that no confidential or fiduciary relationship is entered into by reason of Sponsor’s receipt or consideration of the entrant’s Essay. The entrant’s submission is made with the understanding that the Judges will give his or her Essay such consideration as it merits based on the Judging Criteria (as defined in Section 5) in Sponsor’s sole and final judgment. Sponsor will not be obligated to consider or use any Essay or to offer, negotiate with or enter into an agreement with any entrant pertaining to his or her Essay or otherwise. The entrant acknowledges that no obligation of any kind is assumed by, or may be implied against, Sponsor unless and until such time, if ever, as a formal written contract has been entered into between the entrant and Sponsor. The entrant shall not be entitled to any compensation from Sponsor with respect to the review by the Judges of his or her Essay. Consideration of the Essay for purposes of the Contest is not an admission by Sponsor or the Judges of the novelty, propriety or originality of the entrant’s Essay. The entrant acknowledges that other persons, including Sponsor’s employees, may have previously originated and/or submitted to Sponsor or to others, or made public, or may hereafter originate and/or submit or make public, similar or identical material, which Sponsor will have the right to use. The entrant understands that he or she will not be entitled to any compensation because of Sponsor’s use of such other similar or identical material. Without limitation of the foregoing, Sponsor may use, without any payment or other obligation whatsoever to the entrant, any part of his or her Essay, and any idea or concept contained therein, that (a) is similar or identical to, or contains significant elements encompassed in, a concept that is under consideration or in development by Sponsor before or at the time of the submission, (b) is not unique, novel, original, and concrete so as to be entitled to intellectual property protection under applicable laws, (c) has been made public by anyone at the time of its submission to Sponsor, or otherwise is in the public domain, (d) would be freely usable by a third person if it had not been accepted as a submission or the subject of any agreement, (e) is not protected by copyright law in the pertinent territory, or (f) is similar or identical to, or contains significant elements encompassed in, an idea, concept or material that is independently created by Sponsor or its employees or contractors or those of third parties. Sponsor shall be entitled to all rights of exploitation in accordance with all applicable laws, in any ideas, concepts or materials that are created independently by Sponsor, even if similar or identical to the entrant’s Essay. The entrant agrees that his or her agreement to the foregoing is a prerequisite to Sponsor’s review of his or her Essay.

WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION: Following the conclusion of the Entry Period, the following will be selected from each of the two Divisions by judges designated by Sponsor (the “Judges”) from among all eligible entries received during the Entry Period: (i) one potential Grand Prize winner; (ii) one potential Second Place Prize winner; and (iii) one potential Third Place Prize winner. All winners will be chosen by assessing each Essay based on the following criteria (the “Judging Criteria”), weighted as indicated: overall quality of essay & adherence to the topic (50%); creativity (20%); originality (20%); and spelling & grammar (10%). Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to select one or more additional Grand Prize winners if, in the sole opinion of Sponsor and/or the Judges, the quality of the eligible entries submitted warrants selection of more than one Grand Prize winner. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to not select any winner if, in the sole opinion of Sponsor and/or the Judges, none of the Essays submitted are of acceptable quality. The odds of winning depend on the number and quality of eligible entries received. Potential winner(s) will be notified by mail, telephone and/or e-mail, at Sponsor’s discretion on or about February 15, 2025. Each potential winner is subject to verification of eligibility. If a potential winner cannot be reached or does not respond within 10 days of the initial notification attempt, or if any attempted notification is returned as undeliverable, or if a potential winner is deemed ineligible by Sponsor, or if a potential winner does not otherwise comply with these Official Rules and/or cannot accept their Prize as awarded for any reason, then the potential winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner may, at Sponsor’s discretion, be selected from among the remaining eligible entries as specified in these Official Rules (in which case the foregoing provisions will apply to such newly selected entrant).

PRIZE: A total of Two (2) Grand Prizes, Two (2) Second Place Prizes, and Two (2) Third Place Prizes will be offered (unless Sponsor elects in its discretion to increase the quantity of Grand Prizes offered). The Grand Prize for Division I (grades 6-8) consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $500 and the winner’s essay will appear in the Summer 2025 issue of MARYKNOLL magazine. The Second Place Prize for Division I consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $300 and publication of the winner’s essay online at discoveryourneigh.org. The Third Place Prize for Division I consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $150 and publication of their essay at www.discoveryourneighbor.org . The Grand Prize for Division II (grades 9-12) consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $1,000 and the winner’s essay will appear in the Summer 2025 issue of MARYKNOLL magazine. The Second Place Prize for Division II consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $700 and publication of the winner’s essay online at discoveryourneigh.org. The Third Place Prize for Division II consists of a Cash Award in the amount of $250 and publication of their essay at www.discoveryourneighbor.org . 

In addition, all winners will: (i) receive a certificate of merit; (ii) be published online at MaryknollSociety.org/Winners by April 15, 2025; and (iii) receive a letter of recognition from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Each winner will not receive any part of his/her corresponding prize unless and until the standard form acceptance agreement has been signed by both parties. If a selected winner has not signed and returned to Sponsor the standard form acceptance agreement within 30 days after the date on which Sponsor provides the standard form acceptance agreement to the winner, the Prize will be deemed to have been withdrawn and Sponsor will have no further obligation or liability to the winner. No substitution, cash redemption or transfer of the right to receive any Prize is permitted. Each Prize consists only of those items expressly specified in these Official Rules as being part of the Grand Prize. Sponsor and the Judges will not provide any evaluation of or commentary on Essay submitted in connection with the Contest. All expenses or costs associated with the acceptance or use of the Prize are the responsibility of the winner. All federal, state, provincial/territorial and local taxes on the value of a Prize, if applicable, are the responsibility of the winner. FOR U.S. RESIDENTS: An IRS form 1099 will be issued in the winner’s name if required by law.

GRANT OF RIGHTS: By entering the Contest, each entrant, if selected as a potential winner, irrevocably grants to Sponsor and its affiliates, and the successors, agents, licensees, marketing contractors and assigns of each of the foregoing and Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. (all of the foregoing, the “Contest Entities”) the right to use the entrant’s name, likeness, voice and/or biographical information, and the title of the Essay submitted by the entrant, in perpetuity, throughout the world, in all media and formats whether now or later known or developed (including without limitation on Sponsor’s websites and social media channels), for the purpose of announcing the winner(s) and administering and publicizing the Contest and future contests, without further compensation.

RELEASE AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: The Contest Entities, all other companies involved in the development or operation of the Contest or the provision of the Prizes, and the directors, officers, employees and agents of each of the foregoing (collectively, the “Released Parties”) are not responsible for, and will have no liability for, (a) late, lost, delayed, illegible, stolen, mislaid, damaged, corrupted, postage-due or incomplete entries or Essays, incorrect or inaccurate capture of, damage to, or loss of entries or Essays, or any other human or technical errors of any kind relating to the operation of the Website, communications or attempted communications with any entrant, the submission, collection, storage or processing of entries or Essays or the administration of the Contest, (b) undeliverable e-mails resulting from any form of active or passive e-mail filtering by a user’s Internet service provider and/or e-mail client or for insufficient space in user’s e-mail account to receive e-mail or (c) any damage to any computer system resulting from participation in or accessing or downloading information in connection with the Contest. By entering, each entrant releases and agrees to hold each of the Released Parties harmless from and against any and all claims and liabilities of any kind that the entrant ever had, now has or might in the future have arising out of or relating to the Contest, participation in the Contest, the use of the Website, the Essays (including any loss or damage to the Manuscript), the acceptance of any Prize and/or any use of the entrant’s name, likeness, voice and/or biographical information as permitted pursuant to these Official Rules, including without limitation all claims and liabilities based on any violation of the right of privacy or right of publicity, copyright infringement, misappropriation or violation of any other personal or proprietary right. Entrants assume all liability for any injury or damage caused, or claimed to be caused, by participation in the Contest, the Essay, the use of the Website, the acceptance of any Prize and/or any use of the entrant’s name, likeness, voice and/or biographical information as permitted pursuant to these Official Rules. The Released Parties are not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of the offer, or administration of the Contest.

GENERAL RULES: Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules (including without limitation by adjusting any of the dates and/or timeframes stipulated in these Official Rules) or cancel, modify or suspend this Contest at any time in its discretion, including without limitation in the event that a virus, bug, technical problem, entrant fraud or misconduct, or other cause beyond the control of the Sponsor corrupts the administration, integrity, security or proper operation of the Contest or if for any other reason Sponsor is not able to conduct the Contest as planned (including without limitation in the event the operation of the Contest is interfered with by any fire, flood, epidemic, earthquake, explosion, labor dispute or strike, act of God or of public enemy, communications failure, riot or civil disturbance, war [declared or undeclared], terrorist threat or activity, federal, state, provincial/territorial or local law, order or regulation or court order). In the event of termination of the Contest, a notice will be posted on the Website and if Sponsor has received Essays of acceptable quality, a winner will be selected in accordance with the procedures set forth in these Official Rules from among all eligible entries received prior to the time of termination. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify or prohibit from participating in the Contest any individual who, in Sponsor’s discretion, Sponsor determines or believes (i) has tampered with the entry process, or has undermined the legitimate operation of the Website or the Contest by cheating, hacking, deception or other unfair playing practices, or (ii) has engaged in conduct that annoys, abuses, threatens or harasses any other entrants or any representative of Sponsor, or (iii) has attempted or intends to attempt any of the foregoing. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. The use of agents or automated devices, programs or methods to submit entries is prohibited and Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entry that it believes may have been submitted using such an automated device, program or method. All federal, state, provincial/territorial and local laws and regulations apply. All entry materials become the property of Sponsor and will not be verified or returned. By participating in this Contest, entrants agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor and the judges, which are final and binding in all respects. These Official Rules may not be reprinted or republished in any way without the prior written consent of Sponsor.

DISPUTES: By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with the Contest, the Essay, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action (Note: Some jurisdictions do not allow restricting access to class actions. This provision will not apply to you if you live in such a jurisdiction.); and (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the Contest, but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, punitive, special, incidental or consequential damages and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrants and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York. Any legal proceedings arising out of this Contest or relating to these Official Rules shall be instituted only in the federal or state courts located in the State of New York, waiving any right to trial by jury, and each entrant consents to jurisdiction therein with respect to any legal proceedings or disputes of whatever nature arising under or relating to these rules or the Contest. In the event of any conflict between these Official Rules and any Contest information provided elsewhere (including but not limited in advertising or marketing materials), these Official Rules shall prevail. All entries are subject to verification at any time.

USE OF INFORMATION: Sponsor and/or its agents or contractors will collect information regarding Contest entrants age 13 or older via the Website. Such information will be subject to Sponsor’s privacy policy available at https://maryknollsociety.org. By entering the Contest, each entrant agrees that information submitted via the Website therewith may be used as permitted pursuant to such Privacy Policy and may also be used in connection with the administration of the Contest. In addition, each entrant who enters by mail or delivery agrees that Sponsor will have the right to use information submitted by the entrant in connection with the administration of the Contest.

REQUESTS FOR WINNER’S NAME, RULES AND ENTRY FORMS: For additional copies of these Official Rules, copies of the Contest entry form and/or the names of the winners (which will be available after approximately February 15, 2025), send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, 2021 Student Essay Contest, Division I (or II), PO Box 302, Maryknoll, New York 10545-0302.

SPONSOR: Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. (aka Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers), PO Box 302, Maryknoll, New York 10545-0302.