The Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at Southern Methodist University is pleased to recognize the 2024-2025 Graduate and Undergraduate Ethics Essay Prize recipients. This distinguished competition is designed to encourage SMU students to thoughtfully engage with challenging ethical questions and develop their capacity for careful moral analysis. By participating, students are invited to reflect on complex dilemmas and articulate well-reasoned perspectives on issues in contemporary society that they are passionate about. Through this prestigious annual contest, the Center aims to cultivate ethical awareness, intellectual curiosity, and a strong sense of integrity among emerging leaders at SMU, reinforcing the importance of public responsibility and principled decision-making in all aspects of life.
This year’s prompt welcomed participants to examine the dynamic nature of personal values and the role of community in shaping ethical perspectives. Students were asked to reflect on a community at SMU that had a significant impact on their beliefs and moral development. They were encouraged to recount how their involvement in this community either affirmed their existing values or prompted them to question, adapt, or redefine what they hold to be true. Through these narratives, students analyzed how shared experiences and collective challenges contributed to their evolving sense of self and ethical understanding.
The contest was judged blindly by members of the Ethics Center Advisory Board—including Grant Moise, president and CEO of The Dallas Morning News, and Ashlee Hunt Kleinert, Dallas entrepreneur, philanthropist, and SMU graduate—along with faculty and staff from the Ethics Center. Our collection of essays is now available for public download on our website. The winning essays have not been edited by Maguire Center staff and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Center or its affiliated parties.
Undergraduate Winners
First Prize
Cedar Roach
“A Seat at the Table”
Majors: Public Policy and
Corporate Communication & Public Affairs
Graduation Year: 2025
Second Prize
Dani Lopez Balderas
“Tapestry of a Mustang”
Majors: French and Chemistry
Graduation Year: 2028
Third Prize
Emerson Mason
“On It”
Major: Corporate Communication & Public Affairs
Graduation Year: 2025
Honorable Mention
Angel Mugambi
“Growing Through What You Go Through”
Major: Psychology
Graduation Year: 2026
Honorable Mention
Nathaniel Mekonnen
“When Community Looks Like One Person”
Majors: Public Relations & Strategic Communication
and Corporate Communication & Public Affairs
Graduation Year: 2025
Graduate Winners
First Prize
Maria Guadalupe Casteneda
“The Participatory Power of Giving”
Doctoral student in Liberal Studies
Graduation Year: 2025
Second Prize
Gloria M. Samuels
“Burnout Doesn’t Wear Lipstick”
Graduate student in Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Gradutation Year: 2025
Third Prize
Kaylie Kenebrew
“Difficult Dialogue”
J.D. Candidate
Graduation Year: 2026