(Oregon Right to Life) — Applications are now open for Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation’s 2027 student contests. The contests present some of the biggest opportunities for young people across the state to express and share their pro-life convictions.
The contests enable hundreds of young creators every year to use their talents in support of the pro-life cause: to protect the unborn and lift up moms and families with life-affirming help.
Participants can submit essays, artwork, short-form videos (like social media reels), short films, or oratory, based on a specific theme that changes each year. The 2026 theme was “Support Her. Protect Them.” The 2027 theme is “Human Like Me.”
Robert Young, Jr., community outreach specialist for Oregon Right to Life Education Foundation, oversees the contests, which are managed on the county level by volunteer coordinators.
“My favorite part of working with coordinators is hearing about how excited their students are to participate and how the students’ participation brings the community together for great celebrations of life!” said Young, who has been overseeing the contests since September 2025. He explained that the competition helps “inspire lifelong advocacy in young Oregonians as they use their gifts to speak up for innocent human life.”
Young shared that he had never participated in “anything like our student contests” as a student himself, but “would have loved to use my creative abilities to express my ideals and values.”
“As a child, I didn’t believe my opinions held much weight,” he said. “But contests like these would have made me realize that my voice matters, too.”
For Young, student contests are about empowering and equipping young people to take ownership of their pro-life values.
“I hope that the lasting impact of student contest participation is a generation of advocates who are unafraid to make their voices heard, doing whatever they can to protect innocent human life,” he said.
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Shannon Garlitz, community outreach coordinator for Oregon Right to Life representing Eastern Oregon, volunteered to coordinate Wallowa County’s student contest last year. She said it was “exciting to see the entries” from local students, and encouraged greater involvement from the county in 2027.
“My hope is that more parents, teachers, and youth leaders throughout Eastern Oregon will encourage their students to participate,” she said. “These contests give young people an opportunity to think deeply and creatively express why every human life matters. I’d love to see more students from our region share their unique voices with the rest of Oregon.”
The contributions from students have an impact on the lives of the young people themselves, and they also serve as inspiration to their surrounding community.
Union County volunteer contest coordinator Brittany Hargrove told Oregon Right to Life that the creative works from young pro-life advocates give her hope.
“Reading students’ essays about the sanctity of life was so refreshing,” she said. “It gave me hope for the future by reminding me that many parents still raise their kids to value life from conception. It’s important to celebrate these students so others continue to speak out and share their values.”
Contest divisions are currently open for Oregon students in all grade levels. The short-form video and film categories are open to pro-life advocates of all ages. Cash prizes are available for state winners in all categories.
Oregon Right to Life displays the winning artwork and essays at Oregon Right to Life’s conference, Together We Advocate, each year. The first-place oratory winner will have the opportunity to deliver his or her speech to conference attendees before heading to the National Right to Life conference to compete against other student oratory winners from across the country.
Pro-life Oregonians who have passionate young artists, writers, or speakers in their lives are encouraged to let them know about the opportunity to get involved.
Details and deadlines for the 2027 student contests are listed below.
- Essay or artwork (Deadline: January 15, 2027)
- Short film or a short-form video (Deadline: February 8, 2027)
- Oratory (Contact local contest coordinator for details & deadline)
Go to ortl.org/contests for more information and to apply.
