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Submission Requirements

• Essays must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file.
• The title of the Microsoft Word document file name must be the Entrant’s last name only (e.g., LastName.docx).
• All materials must be received by 5 PM on the essay’s due date.
• Essays should be 3,000 – 4,000 words, not exceeding 6,000 words. Essays must be written by a single author, typed in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, and standard one-inch margins.
• Essays written for a class requirement are acceptable for submission.
• Students may only submit one essay. Further submissions will not be read.
• Submissions must include a reference page and proper in-text source documentation (if applicable). Plagiarism will lead to disqualification and referral to student conduct.
• Include your name only on the first page of your essay submission. Additional identifying information will be collected separately during the submission process. 

The Ethics Essay Prize is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at �������Ϣ.

 

Employees of the Maguire Ethics Center (and the immediate family members of said employees) are not eligible to participate in the contest.

 

• Are essays written for course credit eligible for submission?

  Yes, your essay submission can be from any class or from your independent writing outside of class.

• What citation format should I write in?

  There is no one required citation style, but your style should be professional and consistent. MLA or APA styles are recommended. Please cite all outside sources used, including a "works cited" page if necessary.

• When are Ethics Essay Prize Winners announced?

  Ethics Essay Prize winners will be announced in early April.

• How will I know you have received my essay?

  Ethics Essay Prize participants will receive an email receipt upon submission of their essay.

• Can I read previous essay submissions?

  Although previous winning essays from the Maguire Ethics Essay Prize are not accessible for public download, we invite students to explore the distinguished essays awarded by the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest. These essays offer valuable insights into effective writing strategies, persuasive arguments, and ethical reasoning.

• How will I be notified when winners are chosen?

  Ethics Essay Prize participants will be sent an email in early April informing them if they have earned a prize.

• I entered the contest and won an award last year; may I enter again?

  Yes! You may enter the Ethics Essay Prize even if you have previously won a prize.

• Can I use content generated by artificial intelligence tools such as Chat-GPT in my submission?
  

  • Submissions must primarily consist of original content, with the option to incorporate AI-generated materials when properly cited. AI can produce content that contains inaccurate information, offensive language/images, and biased or unethical representations. What you submit is fully your responsibility across these dimensions. You must provide clear attribution of your sources by following these rules below:
  • Your essay must offer a clear explanation of how you used Generative AI in your writing.
  • All content created by AI in your writing must include a clear citation using a format such as this example:
  • [Chat-GPT-3. (YYYY, Month DD of query). Text of your query. Generated using OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com/].

• Any submissions that utilize Generative AI without attribution can be seen as potential academic dishonesty and will be treated at the undergraduate level within the �������Ϣ Student Honor Code and at the graduate and professional level within the honor codes found in their respective school policies.

 

2024-2025 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: A Seat at the Table: How First-Gen Students Thrive When Institutions Make Room

Written by Cedar Roach, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and Public Policy student

 

Second Place: The Tapestry of a Mustang: Threads of Growth, Challenge, and Integrity

Written by Dani Lopez-Balderas, a Chemistry and French student 

 

Third Place: On It

Written by Emerson Mason, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs student

 

Honorable Mention: When Community Looks Like One Person

Written by Natie Mekonnen, a Corporate Communications & Public Affairs and Public Relations & Strategic Communications student

 

Honorable Mention: Growing Through What You Go Through

Written by Angel Mugambi, a Psychology student

 

2024-2025 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: The Participatory Power of Giving: An Immigrant Student’s Path to Community and Change

Written by Maria Guadalupe Casteneda, a Doctor of Liberal Studies student

 

Second Place: Burnout Doesn’t Wear Lipstick: A Manifesto on Rest, Power, and the Future of Women in Business

Written by Gloria Samuels, a Master of Business Administration student

 

Third Place: The Power of Difficult Dialogue

Written by Kaylie Kenebrew, a Juris Doctor candidate

  

2023-2024 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: Invisible Ethics and Justified Hypocrisy: The Biopolitical Basis of Anti-Transgender Activism

Written by Sara Beth Becker, a Medical Anthropology graduate student

 

Second Place: A Mother’s Lessons to Her Sons: The Significance of Learning About Genocide

Written by Maria Castaneda Tellez, a Liberal Studies Ph.D. candidate

 

Third Place: Questioning the Morality of the Realm of Iron Bars

Written by Adeeb Abdul Taher, a Computer Science master's student

 

 

2023-2024 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: Fake It ‘till You Make It: The Morality of Con Mans

Written by Cooper Shapard, a first-year studying Electrical and Computer Engineering

 

Second Place: Understood: Is Connection the Ethical Response to a Polarized Society?

Written by Anna Kelley Zielke, a third-year studying Dance Performance and Political Science

 

Third Place: The Struggle with Assisted Suicide, For and Against

Written by Andrew McClure, a third-year studying Finance and Philosophy

 

Honorable Mention: How Just is the Just Transition?

Written by Silas Hartman, a fourth-year studying Mechanical Engineering

 

 

Spring 2023 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: What the Twelve Steps’ 'Design for Living' Can Teach about Ethics, Morality, and the Self

Written by Luis Zambrano, a Master of Education student

 

Second Place: Structural Racialization: Why do we continue to ignore it?

Written by Melissa Almonasi-Mulero, a Master of Education student

 

Third Place: Worship for the Anxious: Existential Anxiety, Christian Liturgy, and Tillich's Courage to Be

Written by Marie Schrampfer, a Systematic Theology Ph.D. candidate

 

Honorable Mention: Sister, Sister: Racial Tensions and Complacency with Whiteness in American Sororities

Written by Carolyn Mason, a Medical Anthropology Ph.D. candidate

 

 

Fall 2022 Undergraduate Winners

 

First Prize: Is overcoming Personal Prejudice an Analogy for Ethical Politics?

Written by Zoe Roberts, a third year in the class of 2024 studying Public Policy, Economics, and Human Rights

 

Second Place: Ethical AI: The Dilemma of Responsibility in AI

Written by Daniel Ryan, a third year in the class of 2024 studying Computer Science and Music

 

Third Place: Oil & Gas: and Ethical Quandary

Written by Evan Johnson, a second year in the class of 2025 studying Finance and Spanish

 

Honorable Mention: On Extractivism and Indigenous Rights: Ethical Considerations of Industry, Consumerism, and the Ethnographer

Written by Nicholas Simpson, a fourth year in the class of 2023 studying Health and Society

 

 

Spring 2022 Graduate Winners

 

First Prize: Nazi War Criminals in the United States and the Fight to Rectify Injustice

Written by Ann Marie Dell, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate

 

Second Place: The Intentionality of Poor Living Conditions on Death Row in the United States

Written by Louis Siebrits, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate

 

Third Place: Climbing into the Canopy: Ecological and Ethical Entanglements in Costa Rica’s Cloud Forest

Written by Megan Brown, Anthropology PhD candidate

 

Honorable Mention: Setting Retirement on Fire? Communal and Ethical Reflections on Retirement Strategies

Written by Danny Sebastian, Religious Studies PhD candidate

 

Honorable Mention: The Pedagogy of Racial Ignorance

Written by RL Holmes, Doctor of Liberal Studies candidate