Markkula Center students graduating in 2024 standing on staircase in Vari Hall. Photo by Markkula Center Staff.
The Ethics Center is proud to recognize the 2024 graduating class and their many achievements. We congratulate our recently graduated seniors from all of the Ethics Center student initiatives, including the Business Ethics Internship, Environmental Ethics Fellowship, Government Ethics Fellowship, Hackworth Fellowship, Health Care Ethics Internship, Hackworth Research Grant Recipients, Ethics Bowl Team, and our Marketing and Communications Interns.
2024 Markkula Prize
Named in honor of Center benefactor A.C. "Mike" Markkula Jr., the Markkula Prize goes to a graduating senior who has shown outstanding commitment to ethics, either through creating programs for fellow students or completing significant research in the field.
Executive Director Don Heider awarded this year's Markkula Prize to Anna Krebs, Karina Martin, Tatum Petti, Emma Young, and Sarah Young, the members of this year's Environmental Ethics Fellowship team. Over the last months, the team spent hours in Pajaro, California, speaking with members of the farmworker community about their experience of a catastrophic flood in March 2023 when a long-neglected levee on the Pajaro River broke. Environmental justice is concerned with the disproportionate burdens of risk and loss borne by the good people of communities like Pajaro who pick our delicious strawberries while they endure exposure to failing levees and climate-change caused increasing precipitation. The work of the Environmental Ethics fellows included an exceptional effort to gather interviews, review relevant literature, study issues of ethics, hydrology, and engineering, and write for various publications has brought the story of Pajaro - and of similar communities throughout the United States - to much broader attention.
The Ethics Center would also like to thank Professor Rocio Lilen Segura of Civil Engineering and Professor Iris Stewart-Frey of Environmental Studies and Sciences for their outstanding help with this project.
Finally, we would like to thank the wonderful generosity of the donors who support the Environmental Ethics Fellowship - John and Joan Casey and Mary Ganahl.
Santa Clara University Awards
Students throughout Ethics Center programs were recognized this year with awards of distinction from Santa Clara University, including:
Nobili Medal Recipient - Allen Dao
The Nobili Medal is given to a graduate who is judged outstanding in academic performance, personal character, school activities, and constructive contribution to the University by the faculty and the provost. The Nobili Medal is awarded to Allen Dao who graduated with a degree in biology and was a 2023-24 Health Care Ethics Intern. Dao has aspirations towards a career in medicine that centers on the delivery of ethically sound healthcare.
Richard J. Riordan Award - Kimber Wood
The Richard J. Riordan Award recognized Kimber Wood for her outstanding contributions in the area of community service. Kimber was a 2023-24 Government Ethics Fellow where she researched the connection between homelessness and incarceration. She also interned in Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office to learn more about how local government handles homelessness in the community.
Richard J. Riordan Award - Laura Clark
The Richard J. Riordan Award recognizes Laura Clark for her outstanding contributions in the area of community service. Laura was a 2023-24 Hackworth Fellow. During her fellowship she focused on the ethics of artificial intelligence. She organized and hosted three events on campus to get students talking about AI Ethics: What Does It Mean to Be Human In the Time of AI?, Are You Smarter Than ChatGPT?, and Too Bot to Handle: A Panel on AI, Love, and Relationships.
Gracelyn Rillorta Bateman Award for Inclusive Excellence - Isabella Reyes
The Gracelyn Rillorta Bateman Award for Inclusive Excellence is awarded to students that have demonstrated a commitment to enhancing an inclusive environment at SCU. This year, Isabella Reyes, a 2023-24 Hackworth Fellow, was presented with the award. Isabella was a part of the campus ethics team where she focused her project on disability ethics and awareness.
Neider Family Alumni Service Award - Isabella Reyes
Isabella Reyes also received the 2024 Neider Family Alumni Service Award, which provides financial support to seniors who are leaving SCU and going directly into a service program or project. She plans to volunteer at Angel Flight West, Art of the Heart, and for a physician with a disability at Stanford.
Best of Luck and Farewell to the Ethics Center Class of 2024!
As the academic year draws to a close, the Ethics Center extends its heartfelt congratulations to all our graduating seniors from various internships and programs. We eagerly anticipate the exceptional contributions they will make in their careers beyond SCU. We encourage our students to stay connected with the Ethics Center and to continue weaving ethics into their personal and professional endeavors. We deeply appreciate their dedication and enthusiasm for ethics and are grateful for their involvement in our community. We wish them all the best as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
Business Ethics Intern
Josie Collier
Environmental Ethics Fellows
Sarah Young, Tatum Petti, Emma Young
Ethics Bowl Team
Daniel Hipon, Kendall Schrohe, Kailai Shen, Suzan Amiri, Dylan Cahill.
Government Ethics Fellow
Kimber Wood
Hackworth Fellows
Armando Abarca, Blaise Burbank, Laura Clark, Tatum Diemer, Kinsey Hall, Francis Lai, Xiomara Quinonez, Isabella Reyes, Kendall Schrohe, Ben Shiverdaker, Justin Sun, Willa Weinsheimer
Honzel Fellow
Shelby Jennett
Healthcare Ethics Interns
Bilal Arshadullah, Sophia Bouzid, Allen Dao, Haley Kerr, Tatyana Lum, Michael Nguyen, Kathryn Rickwa, Nicholas Truong
Marketing and Communications Interns
Jessie Jiang, Mia Kanter, Betty Nguyen, Priscilla Zheng
Congratulations to the Class of 2024!