Spain
Run with the bulls. Jay faced Pamplona's bulls. What is your story of choosing courage when retreat would have been easier?
$125 campus winnerA 1972 Mankato State graduate challenges today's Mavericks
Can Mankato
beat Jay?
In 1972, Mankato State graduate Jay Eugene left at age 22 with $1,720, no phone, no GPS and no fixed plan. He stayed away for five years.
Entries open September 28.
$500IN STUDENT PRIZES
Ran with the bullsSpain
Borrow gasYugoslavia
Opened a pizzeriaKabul
Deported twiceIran
The question
What would you do with curiosity, nerve and no algorithm telling you where to go?
Choose one of Jay's real adventures and answer with the boldest journey you have taken, planned or imagined. You do not need to travel or attempt a stunt. Original thinking beats danger.
Current Minnesota State Mankato students age 18 or older may enter one submission in each challenge. Campus voting chooses every winner.
Choose the Jay antic you can beat
Four adventures.
Four $125 prizes.
Yugoslavia:
Borrow Gas
Nearly out of fuel after an accidental border crossing, Jay and Skipper used a siphon and a handwritten note to keep moving.
$125 campus winnerKabul
Open a pizzeria. Jay helped run Kabul's first pizzeria. What impossible idea would you build far from home?
$125 campus winnerIran
Get deported twice. When a border or rule closes the road, how would you find another lawful way forward?
$125 campus winnerThen choose how to answer
100-word storyTrue, planned or imagined.
60-second videoPost publicly and send the link.
Original visualPhoto, poster, illustration or meme, plus up to 50 words.
Dates
Campus vote
Mavericks choose the winners.
One vote per @mnsu.edu email in each challenge. Finalists appear here October 21.
Finalists will appear here when voting opens.
Official challenge rules
Eligibility: Current Minnesota State University, Mankato students age 18 or older. Employees or immediate family of DROP OUT Press are not eligible.
Entries: One original entry per student in each challenge category. Entrants may choose any format. Video must be 60 seconds or shorter. Story must be 100 words or fewer. Visual caption must be 50 words or fewer. Linked media must remain public through October 30, 2026.
Safety: The historical antics are prompts, not instructions. Do not copy trespassing, dangerous acts, theft or border violations. No travel or stunt is required. Entries that encourage harm, harassment, discrimination, illegal activity or damage will be rejected.
Selection: DROP OUT Press reviews entries for eligibility and selects finalists based on originality, clarity and connection to the prompt. Minnesota State Mankato students vote for one finalist in each challenge. The eligible finalist with the most valid votes in each challenge wins. Ties are decided by J. (Jay) Eugene using the same criteria.
Prizes: One $125 prize in each challenge category, four prizes total. Winners must verify current student status and respond within seven days. No purchase is necessary. Void where prohibited.
Rights and privacy: Entrants retain ownership of their work and grant DROP OUT Press a nonexclusive, royalty-free right to display and promote the entry and entrant name in connection with the challenge. Email addresses are not displayed and are used only to administer the challenge. Votes are stored as a one-way email hash.
Administrator: MIM Group Press, Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA. This challenge is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Minnesota State University, Mankato, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or Goodreads.
The story behind the challenge
He did not drop out of life. He dropped into it.
DROP OUT is 1972 Mankato State graduate J. (Jay) Eugene’s candid account of five years across Europe, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India before borders hardened.
Explore the book and journey