KPS US Ethics Bowl Team Wins Inaugural Harvard University’s High School Ethics Bowl

The Kent Place Upper School Ethics Bowl team placed first at the Harvard University High School Ethics Bowl. Congratulations to Co-Captains Madeline Mon ’26 and Olivia Zhang ’26 and team members Claire Cherill ’26, Annabelle Chow ’26, Katie MacKay ’27, Priyana Manglani ’27, Ayushi Wadhwa ’27, Chelsea Chen ’28, Nicole Hoffman ’28, Krisana Manglani ’28, Sarah Mattle ’28, Addie Spencer ’28, and Sophia Ivy ’29. 

Harvard created its own case set for the competition. The Ethics Bowl team practiced during lunches and spring break for nine new cases, ranging from topics from social media vigilante justice, to publishing edited work of authors posthumously, to the ethics of “mandated reporting” in schools, to questions of existence and potential cases of “wrongful life.” The rounds were longer than the traditional National High School Ethics Bowl rounds (10-minute presentations as opposed to 5-minute presentations),

Our team won all three rounds unanimously, facing competition from 36 teams representing 24 schools from a number of states, among them Virginia, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. 

“The Harvard College High School Ethics Bowl, for me, was a great opportunity to interact with people on a broader scale and helped me become more eloquent and confident in my ability to defend a position,” says Annabelle. “The Bowl was a really intellectual space where we were able to collaborate with our teammates and be part of something larger. Everyone pushed each other to be their best. I was beyond proud of our efforts to present well-thought-out arguments, think on our feet, and tackle difficult questions that are imperative in our society.” 

Says Olivia, “It means a lot to win, but it means more to me that I got to do this with people who were invested and willing to think through hard problems.”

“It was simply an outstanding competition on so many levels: the teamwork, the scholarship, the presentation skills, the ethical thinking, and the ability to respond to some of the most difficult ethical and philosophical questions posed by the judges and the competing teams,” says Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute. “I’ve never experienced a high school competition at such a high level of ethical challenges. Our team members rose to the occasion and their performance was spectacular. I couldn’t be more proud of them. And I’m equally happy that they ended their season as the competition champion. They’re most deserving of this prestigious win.”