Who gets decide what “America” means? Politicians get a lot of air time. We wanted to hear what “the people” think. So in Fall 2021, we launched a contest asking UConn students to tell us what “America” means to them. We received a diverse array of responses in the form of short essays, creative writing, poetry, photography, and other forms of original artwork, from students across UConn’s schools and campuses. Of these, the following eight winners rose to the top based on their originality, creativity, and quality.

Explore the videos below to hear the winners recite their essays or poetry, describe their visual artwork, and discuss the inspirations for their work.