ACA Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Doctoral Degree Students

The nomination process for the 2019 ACA National Awards is now closed. Winners of the 2019 ACA National Awards will be announced in February 2019. Nominations for the 2020 ACA National Awards will open in the fall.

Background and Purpose | Eligibility, Rules and Criteria | How to Apply | Previous Awardees

Background and Purpose

The American Counseling Association Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Doctoral Degree Students recognize exceptional, demonstrable understanding of the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, the foundation of ethical professional counseling practice.

Deadline: Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, 11:59 PM EST
Judges:The members of the ACA Ethics Committee
Prizes: The names of the team members and the names of the institutions of the winning teams will be published in the American Counseling Association publication Counseling Today and posted online. All of the members of the winning teams are invited to attend the ACA Conference & Expo to receive recognition.

First Place Award:
Each student team member will receive a $100 honorarium and a certificate of recognition.
Each student team member will receive a free registration to the ACA Conference & Expo. Travel and lodging expenses are their own responsibility.
The First Place Award essay will be posted online.

Second Place Award:
Each student team member will receive a $75 honorarium and a certificate of recognition.

Third Place Award:
Each student team member will receive a $50 honorarium and a certificate of recognition.

Honorable Mention Award:
Each student team member will receive a certificate of recognition.

Sponsor: The American Counseling Association Foundation

Eligibility, Rules and Criteria

• Each student team member must be currently enrolled in good standing in a doctoral degree program in counseling or counselor education and must be enrolled for a minimum of three credits during the term when the competition will take place.

• Each student and faculty member on a team must be a member of the American Counseling Association.

Teams

•  A counseling or counselor education program may have one team of doctoral degree students and one team of master's degree students in the competition.

• Doctoral degree and master's degree teams will be judged separately. Teams must be made up of students in the same level of a degree program. This is not a mixed-level competition.
• Counseling or counselor education programs with separate and distinct campuses may have a doctoral degree team representing each campus. Separate and distinct campuses are considered those that have stand-alone programs.
• A single counseling or counselor education program that has multiple satellite campuses is not eligible for multiple doctoral degree team submissions. (These campuses would have one dedicated representative in an accreditation process, representing the multiple satellite campuses.)

Students

• Teams are limited to having either a minimum of three students or a maximum of four students.
  

Faculty

• Each team must have a faculty member who will serve as an administrative contact person for the counseling or counselor education program.
• The role of the faculty contact person is to represent the team’s counseling or counselor education program only.
• Faculty members should not act as consultants in the awards competition.
• The faculty member’s email address must be their own, not that of a student.

The team essays will be scored in terms of five rubrics:

1. Identification of the Dilemma: The team clearly identified the ethical dilemma(s) including conflicting factors, dimensions and variables included in the professional quandary. The dilemma was described in relationship to ethical standards, laws and professional ideas or aspirations.
2. Proposed Ethical Action: The team proposed action it would take including having: (a) clearly articulated professional interventions; (b) persuasive justification for proposed action and (c) a description of the professionally recognized decision-making model or process used to arrive at decisions.
3. Use of the ACA Code of Ethics: The team cited appropriate sections of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) and, if appropriate, other ethical guidelines considered in rendering their arguments. In addition, the team provided a clear rationale regarding selected sections of the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and any other ethical guidelines cited.
4. Use of the Proposed Model: The steps of the group's decision-making model were clearly followed and skillfully applied to the case.
5. Overall: A thorough yet concise paper addressing details of the case and (a) the case study included proper citation of sources throughout the paper and in the reference list; (b) the paper was well organized and written, and information was presented clearly and concisely and (c) the paper cited the appropriate scholarly literature relevant to solving the ethical dilemma.

How to Apply

Awards applicants must register their team and submit an essay addressing this year's essay prompt.View the 2019 Graduate Student Ethics Awards Doctoral Student Essay Prompt.

To register for the awards program:

• Teams must register to enter the American Counseling Association Graduate Student Ethics Awards program via the Awards submission site. 
• Each team member must provide their American Counseling Association member number at the time of registration to enter the awards program. Incomplete registrations will not be accepted.
• Registering on the American Counseling Association web site to generate an ID number does not constitute membership. For information about membership, contact the membership department or call 800-347-6647.

To submit an essay for award consideration:

• Awards applicants must submit an essay via the Awards submission site, addressing this year's essay prompt. View the 2019 Graduate Student Ethics Awards Doctoral Student Essay Prompt.
• By submitting an essay, teams and team members agree to allow their names to be posted online, to appear in the American Counseling Association magazine Counseling Today and to allow their responses to be posted online.
• Read the winning 2018 Grand Prize essay.

Application Checklist

• Be sure that all team members are current ACA members. 
• Obtain all team members' membership ID numbers.
• Register for the ethics awards program.
• Submit an essay meeting all award requirements.

Supported and sponsored by the American Counseling Association Foundation. 

Previous Awardees

2018

First Place: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Team Members:
Wesley Allen
Jessica Marzi 
Kertesha Riley
Jerry Spangler
Faculty Adviser: Casey Barrio Minton

Second Place: University of Central Florida
Team Members:
Jon Borland
Amanda DiLorenzo
Jayna Mumbauer
Faculty Adviser: Bryce Hagedorn

Third Place: The Ohio State University
Team Members: C. Rosie Bauder
Shelby Coen
Gayle Garcia
Tyler Hudson
Faculty Adviser: Darcy Haag Granello

Honorable Mention: Kansas State University
Team Members:
Tana Arnold
Rebeca Chow
Susana Prochaska
Brian Weber
Faculty Adviser: Doris Wright Carroll


2017

First Place: University of Iowa
Team Members:
Roma Rush
Haley Wikoff
Carol Seehusen
Faculty Adviser: Noel Estrada-Hernandez

Second Place: The College of William and Mary
Team Members:
Nathanel Wagner
Edith Gonzalez
Victor Tuazon
Colleen Grunhaus
Faculty Adviser: Eleni Honderich

Third Place: East Carolina University
Team Members:
Qu’Nesha S. Hinton
Cheryl C. Meola
Margaret P. Sanders
Kristin M. Cain
Faculty Adviser: Steven R. Sligar

Honorable Mention: The George Washington University
Team Members:
Ann D. Emmanuel
Christian D. Chan
Justin G. Jacques
Andrea M. Parodi
Faculty Adviser: Jorge G. Garcia


2016

First Place: College of William and Mary
Team Members:
Brian Kooyman
Rebecca Sheffield
Clay Martin
Keosha Branch
Faculty Adviser: Eleni Honderich

Second Place: University of Cincinnati
Team Members:
Meredith Montgomery
Elif Emir-Öksüz
Mitchell Jones
Victoria Baah-Binney
Faculty Adviser: Mei Tang

Third Place: University of New Orleans
Team Members:
Jeff Strozier
Alexis Yankowski Mueller
Anita Pool
Melissa Walker
Faculty Adviser: Barbara Herlihy

Honorable Mention: Texas A&M University, Commerce Campus
Team Members: 
Denise Walker
Siobhan Flowers
Melissa McCarthy
Shannon Moseley
Faculty Adviser: Erika Schmit      


2015

First Place: Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
Team Members:
Erika L. Schmit
Michael K. Schmit
Samantha L. Klassen
Rachel K. Henesy
Faculty Adviser: Marvarene Oliver

Second Place: The University of Toledo
Team Members: 
Malvika Behl
Juliet C. Russell
Andrew J. Intagliata
Kyle J. Brezinski
Faculty Adviser: Nick J. Piazza

Third Place: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Team Members:
Everett Painter
Allie Rhinehart
Anna Lora Taylor
Sharon Leah Bruner 
Faculty Adviser: Melinda Gibbons

Honorable Mention: Duquesne University
Team Members:
Elisabeth B. Simpson
Alexandra Varela
Monica Pattillo
Michelle Colarusso
Faculty Adviser: William J. Casile


2014

First Place: The College of William and Mary
Team Members:
Eleni M. Honderich
Jessica Lloyd-Hazlett
Richelle Joe
Faculty Adviser: Charles F. Gressard

Second Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Robin M. DuFresne
Allison K. Arnekrans
Stephanie McGuire-Wise
Jared S. Rose
Faculty Adviser: Nick J. Piazza

Third Place: Marymount
Team Members:
Maya N. Georgieva
Latoya M. Kosh
Teryl D. Baker
Harriet E. Bernola
Faculty Adviser: Ryan D. Foster

Honorable Mention: East Carolina University
Team Members:
Marie C. Agius
Samantha M. Coleman
Kristin Cain
Faculty Adviser: Steve R. Sligar 


2013

First Place: North Carolina State University
Team Members:
Heather A. Warfield
Megan H. Tajlili
Stephen D. Kennedy
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Stanley B. Baker

Second Place: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville


2012

First Place: University of New Orleans
Team Members:
Kristen N. Dickens
Amanda E. Johns
Bonnie C. King
Candace N. Park
Faculty Adviser: Barbara Herlihy

Second Place: Syracuse University
Team Members:
Claudette A. Brown-Smythe
Allison M. Hrovat
Sarah F. Spiegelhoff
Laura K. Thompson
Faculty Adviser: Melissa M. Luke

Third Place: North Carolina State University
Team Members:
Stephen Kennedy
Megan H. Tajlili
Heather A. Warfield
Faculty Adviser: Stanley B. Baker

Honorable Mention: The University of Akron
Members:
Jessica A. Headley
Mike Polnik
Elonda Underwood
Faculty Adviser: Varunee Faii Sangganjanavanich


2011

First Place: University of Iowa
Team Members:
Cassie Storlie
Nanseol Heo
Hongryun Woo
Tracie Self
Faculty Adviser: Vilia Tarvydas

Second Place: Capella University
Team Members:
Jason King
Steven DeMille
David Carrington
Faculty Adviser: LoriAnn Stretch 

Third Place: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Team Members:
Kathleen Brown-Rice
Regina Moro
Angela Colistra
Kristina Acosta
Faculty Adviser: John R. Culbreth

Honorable Mention: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Jayne Smith
Laurie A. Bonjo
Lashauna Dean-Nganga
Tiffinee Hamilton
Faculty Adviser: Edward S. Neukrug


2010

First Place: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Joe Davis
Becky Michel
Anita Neuer
Jodi Slaughter
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Ed Neukrug

Second Place: St. Mary’s University
Team Members:
Demetrius Donseroux
Samantha Galloway
Jeannette Tappe
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Melanie Harper

Third Place: The University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tanner Babb
Stephanie Calmes
Layla Kurt
Carrie VanMeter
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Nick J. Piazza


2009

First Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tara Hill
Amber Lange
Megan Mahon
Faculty Adviser: Nick Piazza

Second Place: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Rebecca McBride
Sonya Lorelle
Stephanie Crockett
Julia Forman
Faculty Adviser: Edward Neukrug

Third Place: University of North Texas
Team Members:
Yan Holliman
Kristin Meany-Walen
Ryan Foster
Faculty Adviser: Casey Barrio-Minton


2008

First Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tara M. Hill
Christie D. Jenkins
Amber Lange
Megan Mahon
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Nick Piazza

Second Place: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Michael Hauser
Amanda C. Healey
Katherine Moore
Cynthia Walley
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Edward Neukrug

Third Place: University of Akron
Team Members: 
Kevin P. Feisthamel
Kara Kaelber
Michelle E. Toth
Faculty Adviser: Dr. Cynthia R. Reynolds