Of the 27 total winners, 12 will be selected as ICJS fellows and will attend a two-day seminar next year.

According to Goldhirsh the response to the contest so far has been excellent.

“We have had a great response,” Goldhirsh says. “I think we have had over 500 essays submitted, and we have had a lot of media attention.”

Goldhirsh says that she hopes to make the contest an annual event, and hopefully expand it to include other religions in the essay topics.

She says that she is currently studying Arabic at Harvard Summer School and hopes to incorporate Islam into the contest next year.

“I know a lot more about Christianity and Judaism than I do about Islam so it will be a learning experience,” Goldhirsh says. “It is definitely going to be a challenge, but it is something I am really excited about.”

Goldhirsh also says that she hopes to expand the scope of Reaching Common Ground as an organization and possibly pursue projects in the Middle East.

“There are so many ways to find common ground even when it seems like there are so many differences,” Goldhirsh says.

—Staff writer Evan M. Vittor can be reached at evittor@fas.harvard.edu.