Submissions open March 17 – April 28, 2026
Winners announced May 22, 2026
Sometimes being a leader is easy, but other times it is uncomfortable or even scary. Share about a time when doing the right thing was not the popular or easy choice. This could be an experience at school, with friends, in your community, or at home.
In your response, share your thoughts on the following:
What happened and how did you feel?
What did you learn from this experience?
What does it mean to be a leader in moments like this?
How can you continue to show leadership even when it feels hard?
We will be featuring winning videos on our social media channels, so be sure to like and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Check out previous contest winners and finalists selected from 2016-2025.
Following the submission deadline, several regional finalists will be chosen. The regional finalists will receive a special certificate.
From the group of regional finalists, five (5) grand prize winners will be selected by a panel of judges:
Please note that to be eligible for the popular vote contest, videos must be centered on the prompt and votes must be submitted through the contest platform without any assistance from automated bot voting. All unverified votes will be disqualified. The judges have sole discretion to disqualify any popular vote contest entry that does not fulfill ALL requirements of the video contest and/or the prompt. Additional details on the popular voting process will be communicated as the voting period opens from April 29 – May 5, 2026.
The purpose of a leadership grant is to inspire and enable you to be life-ready leaders by using the grant to make a difference within your circle of influence. What you do with your leadership grant is up to you, but here are a few suggestions to make a difference as a leader:
• Identify and fix a problem that exists at school.
• Donate the money to a charitable contribution.
• Organize a service project in the community.
• Purchase personal school supplies.
• Help a class member or family in need.
• Contribute to a college/university fund.
This entry video is led by and features an individual Leader in Me student.
All parts of the contest prompt are answered with a traditional speech, creative video, or any form of video entry. This video entry is no longer than 3 minutes long.
This entry video is led by and features a classroom, small group of students, or even an entire school. All students involved in the entry must be featured.
All parts of the contest prompt are answered with a traditional speech, creative video, or any form of video entry. This video entry is no longer than 3 minutes long.
Leader in Me (LiM) is an evidence-based, comprehensive school improvement model—developed in partnership with educators—that empowers students with the leadership and life-skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.
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