Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Doctoral Degree Students

Background and Purpose | Eligibility, Rules and Criteria | How to Apply | Previous Awardees | 2020 Winning Essay

Background and Purpose

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

Application Deadline

• January 10, 2020, 11:59 PM EST

Award Notification

• Winners chosen and announced the week of February 18, 2020 

Judges

• Member 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 Counseling Today and CT Online. All members of the winning teams are invited to ACA Conference & Expo to receive recognition.

First Place Award 

• $100 honorarium and a certificate of recognition for each student team member.
• Complimentary registration to the ACA Conference & Expo. Travel and lodging are not included.
• Essay will be posted online.

Second Place Award 

• $75 honorarium and a certificate of recognition for each student team member.

Third Place Award 

• $50 honorarium and a certificate of recognition for each student team member.

Honorable Mention Award 

• Certificate of recognition for each student team member.

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

• Submit an essay addressing this year's essay prompt.
• 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 website to generate an ID number does not constitute membership. For information about membership, contact the membership department or call 800-347-6647.
• By submitting an essay, teams and team members agree to allow their names and essay responses to be posted on CT Online.

Apply for Award

Supported and sponsored by the American Counseling Association Foundation. 

Awardees

2020

First Place: Lindsey Wilson College 
Team Members:
Connie Elkins
John Bender
Jay Tift

Second Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Taylor Nelson
Laura Mallow
Kimberly Molnar
Hanna Tippett

Third Place: Texas A&M University-Commerce
Team Members:
Donna L. Hickman
Rebecca L. Mathews
Sarah Silveus
Danielle McGarrh

Honorable Mention: Walden University
Team Members:
Chrismathe Lindsay
Brandon Henry
Jamaal Crone
Madalyn Caldwell

 

2019

First Place: Lindsey Wilson College
Team Members:
Connie Elkins
Sherry Miller
Jay Tift
2019 Winning Essay: Doctoral Category

Second Place: William & Mary
Team Members:
Nancy Chae
Shuhui Fan
Jeremy Goshorn
David Gosling


Third Place: The University of Toledo
Team Members:
Lindsay Heckman
Rachel Jacoby
Jennifer Rio
Hannah Tippett


Honorable Mention: Texas A&M University, Commerce
Team Members:
Donna L. Hickman
Rebecca L. Mathews
Desiree L. Stephens
Nancy Thomas



2018

First Place: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Team Members:
Wesley Allen
Jessica Marzi 
Kertesha Riley
Jerry Spangler


Second Place: University of Central Florida
Team Members:
Jon Borland
Amanda DiLorenzo
Jayna Mumbauer


Third Place: The Ohio State University
Team Members: C. Rosie Bauder
Shelby Coen
Gayle Garcia
Tyler Hudson


Honorable Mention: Kansas State University
Team Members:
Tana Arnold
Rebeca Chow
Susana Prochaska
Brian Weber



2017

First Place: University of Iowa
Team Members:
Roma Rush
Haley Wikoff
Carol Seehusen


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


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


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



2016

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


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


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


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


2015

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


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


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


Honorable Mention: Duquesne University
Team Members:
Elisabeth B. Simpson
Alexandra Varela
Monica Pattillo
Michelle Colarusso



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


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


Third Place: North Carolina State University
Team Members:
Stephen Kennedy
Megan H. Tajlili
Heather A. Warfield


Honorable Mention: The University of Akron
Members:
Jessica A. Headley
Mike Polnik
Elonda Underwood



2011

First Place: University of Iowa
Team Members:
Cassie Storlie
Nanseol Heo
Hongryun Woo
Tracie Self
 
Second Place: Capella University
Team Members:
Jason King
Steven DeMille
David Carrington
 

Third Place: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Team Members:
Kathleen Brown-Rice
Regina Moro
Angela Colistra
Kristina Acosta


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

2010

First Place: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Joe Davis
Becky Michel
Anita Neuer
Jodi Slaughter


Second Place: St. Mary’s University
Team Members:
Demetrius Donseroux
Samantha Galloway
Jeannette Tappe


Third Place: The University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tanner Babb
Stephanie Calmes
Layla Kurt
Carrie VanMeter



2009

First Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tara Hill
Amber Lange
Megan Mahon


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


Third Place: University of North Texas
Team Members:
Yan Holliman
Kristin Meany-Walen
Ryan Foster



2008

First Place: University of Toledo
Team Members:
Tara M. Hill
Christie D. Jenkins
Amber Lange
Megan Mahon

Second Place: Old Dominion University
Team Members:
Michael Hauser
Amanda C. Healey
Katherine Moore
Cynthia Walley


Third Place: University of Akron
Team Members: 
Kevin P. Feisthamel
Kara Kaelber
Michelle E. Toth