The four winners of the Chase Center’s 2026 student civics writing competition were announced April 21 at the final Chase Society meeting of this academic year.
Executive Director Lee Strang said the purpose of the contest is to provide an opportunity for Ohio State students to work through and articulate their viewpoint on an important question about American citizenship.
“We were extremely impressed with the thoughtfulness and the wide variety of opinions expressed in the student essays,” Strang said.
On March 28, the students had 90 minutes to write a 1,000-word essay on the question, “Is global citizenship more important than U.S. citizenship?”
The first-place $3,500 scholarship winner, Sarina Mathis, argued that national and global citizenship are not in competition, but are complementary. In other words, national and global citizenship need one another. Peaceful coexistence depends on maintaining a proper and healthy balance between loyalty to your own country and responsibility to humanity in general.
Second place and a $2,500 scholarship went to Deacon Humbert. His essay warned that because global citizenship has no real institutions or meaningful participation, it is effectively a fiction. As a result, lasting global change can only be achieved through strong local and national communities acting with purpose.
Adil Zafar received a $1,500 scholarship for his third-place essay, which argued that there is no world state—only some relatively weak international institutions, like the United Nations, that cannot truly enforce rules upon powerful countries. As a result, global citizenship is at best a loose, aspirational concept that cannot compare to the benefits and obligations of American citizenship.
Finally, James Kolak received an honorable mention and a $500 scholarship for his compelling argument that global citizenship is a fairly empty concept, because real citizenship requires a shared society that does not exist beyond individual nation-states.
Congratulations to these students!
The Chase Center’s writing contest will return in Spring 2027, so follow our social media for next year’s announcement.