Give Big: Cristin Volunteers for Local Ethics Day Event
Cristin Etheredge, Operations Manager in our Vienna office, is an active member of The Rotary Club of Vienna and currently serves on the Club Leadership Team. As an active member, Cristin has fully embraced a wide variety of philanthropical events to benefit her local community. Recently, Cristin volunteered at the 18th Annual Ethics Day event with George C. Marshall High School. As a first time volunteer, Cristin said the following of the event: “If you were to ask me what I expected when I stepped foot into the Westin, it would have been apathetic, disengaged teenagers glued to their phones. Instead what I experienced were young adults who wanted to actively listen, articulate their thoughts, synthesize conclusions, and propose potential solutions with one another.” Reflecting on the event, Cristin went on to share, “My favorite part of the day was witnessing the students wanting more details, and more facts about each case they were presented with. Their ability to challenge being given surface details is crucial to successful critical thinking. By spending a day with high school seniors, I was rewarded with a new faith that the generation to follow us will make sound, ethical decisions.”
A full summary of the successful event is shared below.
Vienna, VA: Today the Rotary Club of Vienna participated in Ethics Day for the 18th consecutive year with George C. Marshall High School held at Westin Hotel in Tyson’s Corner. The event was sponsored by the Vienna Rotary Club, Vienna Optimist Club and the George C. Marshall PTSA.
The entire senior class of Marshall High School was in attendance, participating in four modules to cover different ethical topics: a Mock Trial, the Bad Samaritan, CyberEthics and Designer Babies. Along with the assistance of volunteer moderators and table leaders, the students were led through various real-life scenarios, had an open dialogue and asked to reach decisions on topics that made students think critically about responsibility, accountability and morals.
Senior high school student Sam Hassett explained: “Ethics Day was a very self-reflective experience for me. This event put everything into a real world context instead of the hypothetical examples I’m used to.”
Rotary Club of Vienna Members Tom Kyllo, Matt Brennan, Cristin Etheredge, Joe Cacciapaglia, Scott Butler, AJ Osukie and Michelle Wright after the conclusion of Ethics Day
Sheila Sobczyk began volunteering with Ethics Day with Marshall High school three years ago. Her first year at the end of the day a student expressed to her what he got out of it – “You have to always think about what you are about to do. Your decision could hurt other people.” According to Sheila, “I knew right then and there I wanted to always be part of Ethics Day. It is so important for our young adults as they get ready to move out into the world.
Senior Nisa Hassan also took something away from the day: “Ethics not only relies on your personal morals, but being able to acknowledge the differences that may not always line up with your personal beliefs.”
The Rotary Club is an international organization that was one of the world’s first service organizations. As Rotarians, we are 1.2 million neighbors, friends, and community leaders who come together to create positive, lasting change in our communities and around the world.
Attorney Nathaniel Baldwin, the Honorable Manuel Capsalis and Attorney Mark Nicewicz volunteered their time to present the Mock Trial Module for students
Ethics Day is another activity of the Rotary Club of Vienna to give back to our community in terms of treasure, time and talent. The Rotary Club of Vienna has been the primary financial and staffing entity for the event from its inception through today.
To learn more about the Rotary Club of Vienna, visitors are welcome to join the members at one of our lunch meetings held on Wednesdays 12:00-1:30pm. If you are interested in learning more or to RSVP for a lunch, please contact our Membership Chair, James Cudney, at James@Cudney.org