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Upper School Ethics Bowl Team Announced; Five New Members Selected

Upper School Ethics Bowl Team Announced; Five New Members Selected

It was a very competitive year for Ethics Bowl tryouts in the Upper School. Forty students — a record number for Kent Place — applied for five open spots on the 2024–2025 team. After two rounds of interviews, the five students selected are Supriya Kamilla ’26, Priyana Manglani ’27, Sarah Mattle ’28, Madeline Mon ’26, and Olivia Zhang ’26. 

First, applicants wrote an assessment of an ethical case, then presented their argument to a panel of judges and answered questions. The students with the top 10 cumulative points moved to the second round, during which they had 15 minutes to read a brand-new case and an additional 15 minutes to present to the judges. The Ethics Bowl Selection Committee comprised Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute; Walidah Justice, Chief Equity Inclusion Officer; Anna Conti, Associate Director of the Ethics Institute; and Lisa Goldman, Ethicist in Residence and the team’s assistant coach. 

“This was one of the most difficult selection processes in the history of the Ethics Institute,” said Dr. Rezach. “I’m so proud of the fact that all of our students have benefited from the ethics courses and programming at KPS — it makes for candidates who can articulate their ethical reasoning and decisions in a very convincing manner. Selecting just five students out of 40, all of whom were qualified, was a monumental task. Congratulations to our newest members. The 2024–2025 Upper School Ethics Bowl Team is now ready to embark on its journey to retain the New Jersey title and to regain the National Championship.”  

The five new members join returning teammates Naina Bhardwaj ’25, Dvita Bhattacharya ’25, Ava Builione ’26, Claire Cherill ’26, Annabelle Chow ’26, Charlotte Grushkin ’25, Tara Khurana ’26, Katie MacKay ’27, and Ayushi Wadhwa ’27.

The team’s first competition will be the New Jersey Ethics Bowl, at the end of January. From there, they have the opportunity to advance to the Regionals, and will aim to compete at the National High School Ethics Bowl Championships, held at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

“As a captain, I’m especially excited for the Ethics Bowl season this year because we’ve assembled a team that’s very well versed in ethical and bioethical principles,” said Dvita, who shares captain responsibilities with Naina and Charlotte. “Many of our new members have experience participating in the Bioethics Project and the Lodestar ethics journal, which gives them a strong foundation for writing and analyzing cases. Each team member brings unique perspectives and skills to the table, and I’m looking forward to leveraging our individual strengths to work seamlessly as a team this season.”

Follow the Ethics Institute on Instagram to keep up with the Upper School Ethics Bowl Team as well as all things ethics at Kent Place.