DeSales Hosts Inaugural 2018 Fleming High School Ethics Bowl
Nine teams from eight area schools competed in the inaugural 2018 Fleming High School Ethics Bowl Competition at DeSales University.
Northampton Area High School took home the top trophy and a $2,000 prize in the event, which mirrored DeSales’ annual collegiate ethics bowl.
“Being a part of the first ethics bowl was a great experience,” says Katelyn Heffelfinger, a senior from Northampton Area High School. “Being able to represent Northampton and, more importantly, represent ourselves is something that was very exciting and I loved doing.”
The inaugural case study involved college athletics. During the first round of the competition, teams had 20 minutes to present their case to a panel of judges made up of business executives and members of the DeSales faculty, and 15 minutes to answer the judges’ questions.
"The experience is invaluable. In their lives and in their career, [students] are going to be faced with ethical situations and this is great practice for them to start to think about how they would react and respond in the future.”
The judges selected four teams to advance to the final round, where each team was then given a “twist” related to the original case and had 45 minutes to prepare a response.
“Before this, I had no exposure to anything to do with law or ethics in a situation like this,” says Suhas Yalamarti, a junior at Northampton Area High School. “All of the judges are professionals in their field so I thought it was really interesting to get to listen to their questions and see what input they had on our presentation.”
In addition to bragging rights and a $2,000 prize, members of the winning team will also receive a $2,500 scholarship annually for four years to attend DeSales.
Building 21 Allentown came in second place and took home a $1,500 cash prize. Members who attend DeSales will also receive a $1,500 scholarship annually for four years.
Liberty High School won the third place trophy and split a $1,000 cash prize along with a $1,000 scholarship annually for four years to DeSales, while Palisades High School came in fourth place and split a $500 cash prize.
Dr. Amy Scott, chair of the 2018 Fleming High School Ethics Bowl and associate professor of business, calls the inaugural event a success and says DeSales plans to make it an annual event.
“The experience is invaluable,” she says. “In their careers and their lives, they’re going to be faced with ethical situations and this is great practice for them to start to think about how they would react and respond in the future.”
Richard Fleming and his family foundation established The Fleming Institute for Business Ethics in 2009 with a goal to promote a culture of ethical awareness and action in business professions through the collaborative efforts of corporate and educational groups. Learn more about the Fleming Institute
