2026 college essay contest: 9th place (tie) — Anh Nguyen

The choir bells do not ring for all of us

By Anh Nguyen

You were born in the summer of 1946 in Queens, N.Y., in Jamaica Hospital, to a wealthy businessman and a Scottish immigrant, both of whom practiced Presbyterian Christianity. You went from Fordham University to the University of Pennsylvania at Wharton, where you studied economics like every great man before you, and graduated without honors. You then grew up and married three times and had five children. Now, you are the president.

All in all, you have lived the American dream. And you are reshaping it: “We have to bring back our religion. We have to bring back Christianity in this country.” It is a great dream, is it not?

But how much of that dream belongs to the people of America?

And I don’t mean the rich and privileged, I mean the people who toil and struggle to survive. If religion were so great, would they not be dreaming the American Dream every morning? The nation is no more than the sum of its parts, its people.

And religion in America does not favor those without deep pockets. If a girl or a woman were pregnant and did not want a child, if they happen to live in many states, they would either have to get a pregnancy test and abortion within an incredibly tight window (in which the pregnancy may not even be detected) or go to a different state — neither of which are truly viable options for many people.

The overturning of Roe v. Wade was overwhelmingly sought by a majority Christian-conservative panel of justices, of which Trump appointed three — all of whom voted against Roe v. Wade. He thanked these judges for “the wisdom and the courage they showed on this long-term, very contentious issue.” Is Trump’s religion truly bringing greatness if women cannot make health care choices regarding their own bodies?

One of the biggest things that America prides itself on is its military. If it were anything that America should gloat about, it is that it respects its veterans, right? Trump ended the national program, “Housing First,” which was intended to ensure that the homeless can get a home first, to have that stability while they get back on their feet. It’s a well-researched initiative. Well, it should be noted that there are many unhoused veterans who depended on this program because the aftershocks of war left them in conditions where they cannot simply go back to daily life. Ironically, this dismantling was blessed by the White House Faith Office and Pastor Paula White.

Is Trump’s religion so great if more and more homeless people, homeless veterans — people who fought for our country — are left to fend for themselves on the streets? This country was founded on the liberty and freedom of the people from tyrannical forces, with a promise that they could choose the life they live. The First Amendment proclaims, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The law demands the government has no hold on the existence of religion, or lack thereof.

And if the volume of the choir bells and number of the crosses holding up the stage of America were any metric of “greatness,” then do me a favor: Find a college-aged teenager who wants something real for herself, who’s raising a child she cannot afford, working two jobs she cannot handle because her state did not allow her to be rid of a pregnancy that was forced upon her. Or, find a veteran unclothed on the street, shivering and frightened by the dull ringing hammered into his ears by the gunfire from decades ago, an ocean away. Please, by all means, tell them how great the country that they live in is. And, tell them, for me, how religion will be their saving grace.

Ahn, 20, attends Georgia Tech with plans to major in mathematics and computer science.

“I am gunning to work in robotics engineering and eventually get a PhD in math,” Ahn writes. “I really like writing, lifting, futsal and rugby. I also really like Hogwarts-y places.”