Students from throughout Southwest Florida recently came to Florida Gulf Coast University to compete in Lutgert College of Business’s third annual high school ethics case competition. The contest was co-sponsored by Uncommon Friends Foundation and Lee County Schools.
Eric B. Dent, FGCU’s Uncommon Friends Endowed Chair Professor of Ethics, selected a case in which students were faced with a real-life ethical dilemma of a college intern who found her clients were billed for more time than she actually worked and at a higher billing rate.
“Seeing the high school students grappling with a real-life ethical dilemma, taking a Saturday to think about ethics, and presenting their solution in a professional manner gave me great hope for the future,” said Karen Serrell, an Uncommon Friends board member and Colonial Elementary School teacher.
The winning team members were Kaili Yap, Hannah VanDress, Megan Piller, Graham Kupsaw and Samuel Bejarano from Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers and Zach Taylor of Crosspointe Academy in Fort Myers, facilitated by Bishop Verot teacher James Orr. Each was awarded a $500 scholarship by Brian Rist of Storm Smart Industries, who also served as keynote speaker for the event.
“Take care of your employees, who will take care of your customers, and the business will take care of itself” was one of the many important ethical points illustrated by Rist in his speech.
High school students interested in participating in the 2020 ethics competition should contact Dent by email or by calling (239) 590-7162.
