The Hektoen Institute proudly sponsors a scholarship contest awarding between $3,000–5,000 in tuition support each to up to three students attending community college in Illinois.

To enter the contest, students must compose an essay between 800–1,500 words on any topic stimulated by their reading of Hektoen International (hekint.org), the online journal embracing the intersection of art, literature, history, philosophy, nursing, religion, travel, food, medicine, and science. Entrants should familiarize themselves with the journal sections and must designate their two favorite articles with their entry.

The deadline is October 14, 2025, at 12 PM (noon) CST. Submissions will be reviewed by a jury selected by the Hektoen Institute.

• Articles must focus on a topic related to any one of the sections of the Hektoen International journal.
• The contest is open ONLY to students currently enrolled at an Illinois community college recognized by the Illinois Community College Board.
• Entries must be written in English and your own original work, created without the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
• Only the three winners will be contacted at the conclusion of the contest. The winners might be announced in our newsletter, on social media, and through other outlets.
• Submission of an article implies consent for your article to be published in Hektoen International, but publication is not guaranteed.
• Questions about the contest should be sent to [email protected].

Guidelines

Articles must be unpublished, original work 800–1,500 words in length. Each submission should include:

• A cover page with:
  • Author name, email, address, and the community college you are attending
  • A biography no longer than 100 words, written in the third person, that includes:
    • Your current educational status
    • Future educational/career goals
    • Your two favorite articles from this journal
• Article text with:
  • The title of the article
  • The full text of the article in Times New Roman, size 12, and double-spaced
  • References formatted in a numbered list at the end of the article with corresponding superscript numbers in the text (example below). Please see our articles for further examples. Please do NOT use the endnotes or references functions in Word.
    • Example:
      Florence Nightingale learned from the shortcomings of Crimean hospitals in developing her guidelines for healthcare facilities.¹
      1. McDonald, Lynn. “Florence Nightingale: The making of a hospital reformer.” Health Environments Research & Design Journal 2020;13(2):25-31. doi:10.1177/1937586720918239.

File format/name

Please save the submission as a Word document (we do not accept PDFs or Pages files) with the author’s last name followed by the title (or abbreviated title). Example: For an article titled “Big Hugh” by Dr. John Smith, save as Smith_Big Hugh.docx

Patient consent/confidentiality

Our confidentiality policy regarding discussion of healthcare is based on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Please refer to this document if you have any questions: https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html. Authors should protect the confidentiality of all persons and not reveal personal details without their consent.

Copyright (©) and plagiarism

Authors retain the copyright to their submissions to Hektoen International. By submitting your work to us via Everest Forms or by email for consideration, you consent to the scanning of your work by third-party plagiarism and AI checker programs.

Plagiarism is, in its simplest wording, claiming someone else’s work as your own. When you submit work or portions of a work that you yourself did not write, without giving credit to its original author, that is plagiarism. Plagiarism ranges from copying another’s entire publication to rewording portions and ideas from another’s publication without a citation.

All submissions should be the stated author’s original work.

Submission Form

Please check your email (including spam/junk) for a copy of your submission. Please send all other inquiries to [email protected].