Student Leadership in Ethics Award
To acknowledge outstanding leadership and service by students participating in the student ethics office program, we have established the Student Leadership in Ethics Award made possible by the generous support of TEOCO Corporation. The annual award, which includes a scholarship, is conferred annually on an individual student ethics officer who demonstrates exceptional character and ethics in the school environment, as well as his or her daily life. Award criteria include a demonstrated commitment to ethics and the ability to translate vision into specific goals and behaviors, including:
- Assistance in identifying goals for the Student Ethics Office (SEO)
- Behavior that exceeds the standard and puts exceptional ideas into practice
- Contribution of innovative ideas to the SEO
- Clear dedication to promoting change
The winner must also show evidence of ethical moral courage in dealing with issues internal and external to the Student Ethics Office and the school, and in setting and achieving high standards of ethical conduct within the school, including:
- Ethical role modeling in daily interaction with peers, teachers, and others in the school community
- Ethical leadership that goes beyond just following the rules
- Demonstrated commitment to abide by a higher standard of behavior and ethics when confronted with difficulties
- Ability to make difficult ethical decisions on a principled basis, despite conflicting obligation, rights, or values
- Exhibition of courage and wisdom in daily interactions with others.
Finalists for the award ar4e required to submit a personal statement describing their commitment to ethics as well as their contributions to the school community and the school's Student Ethics Office (SEO). Among other things, the students were told to address how they live their lives in a manner that shows commitment to ethics, how they have served as a model for ethical behavior, and how they feel their experiences as a leader in the school's SEO will help prepare them for the future.
Finalists were also required to submit a letter of sponsorship completed by a school representative and one completed by a classmate / peer in the school community.
Recipients
2006 Award
"One of the toughest aspects of being an Ethics Officer is having the courage to stand up and assert the moral perspective," wrote Lauren Lessard, Lake Braddock Secondary School (Burke, Virginia), who was selected as this year's winner of the Student Leadership in Ethics Award. The panelists who selected her were impressed with the way Ms. Lessard conducts herself as a leader in her school and community, leading by example, humbly acknowledging her faults and learning from her mistakes. The award will be presented to Ms. Lessard at her school on March 13.
Ms Lessard and the other finalist, Sher Afgan Tareen, Washington-Lee High School (Arlington, Virginia) are juniors in their respective schools and have been active in the Student Ethics Office(tm) (SEO) program for years.
Read more about the 2006 Award and Finalists.
2005 Award
The ERC awarded its first Student Leadership in Ethics Award on January 28, 2005, to Vikrant Arya, a senior at Washington-Lee High School in northern Virginia.In his statement, Mr. Arya said "Each society's foundations are built on a set of morals and values that guide citizens to live life in an ethical, law-abiding manner. In today's competitive world, however, people have started to lose the respect for fair play and only concentrate on winning. Instead of thinking about the consequences of one's actions, people tend to make decisions based on the philosophy 'the ends justify the means.' Seeing such drastically changing attitudes around myself, I felt I needed to do my level best to make a difference."
