NHSEB 2025 Event Recap
On the weekend of April 11-13, 2025, the Parr Center was proud to host the 2025 National High School Ethics Bowl Championship. It was a resounding success, bringing 24 of the best High School Ethics Bowl teams from all around the country to Chapel Hill for an intensive weekend of dialogue and discussion over tough moral issues that matter.
The weekend began on Friday, with a beautiful Carolina Spring afternoon. As teams arrived on campus, they were welcomed to the Carolina Union for check-in by the Parr Center Staff as well as photo opportunities with UNC’s mascot, Ramses. Students went on walking tours of the UNC campus with Parr Center Ethics Scholars, explored UNC’s ethics-adjacent offerings at a curated Student Engagement Fair, and spent time getting to know each other. Coaches were welcomed to campus over drinks and appetizers in a reception with the NHSEB Staff and Advisory Board in the Campus Y’s Anne Queen Lounge. Despite the threat of rain, all programming was able to proceed as scheduled! After these events, everyone came together in the Carolina Union’s Great Hall for a formal welcome to Carolina, and to the NHSEB event. There, students enjoyed a meal and were acknowledged for their dedication to the ethics bowl and for the democratically crucial nature of the students’ work. A jazz trio from the UNC School of Music performed while the students celebrated the achievement of reaching NHSEB nationals. Sarah Stroud, Director for the Parr Center for Ethics, introduced the new director of the NHSEB, Leo Kirby, who gave opening remarks and officially welcomed the students to UNC’s campus.
Saturday morning began bright and early with some announcements from NHSEB Staff, and kicked off the competitive event with Preliminary Rounds. All 24 teams were randomly paired for head-to-head matches throughout the day, and their scores were tabulated for preliminary competitive ranking. Saturday’s matches were evaluated by over 50 volunteer judges from all walks of life. Academics of various disciplines and interested community members alike came out to show their support for the program and to work with our students. All of our judges had one important thing in common: they reported feeling truly impressed with NHSEB students’ incisive commentary on an exciting set of national cases.
As the competition continued, some teams’ performance did rise above the rest. The rain clouds cleared, and we ended Saturday together outdoors to celebrate NHSEB’s own “Elite 8”—those teams which would advance to the second day of Competition, beginning with Quarterfinals on Sunday morning. Those teams were: All Saints Academy, BASIS Flagstaff, Creighton Preparatory School, Dwight-Englewood School, The Geneva School of Manhattan, Lincoln High School, Mariemont High School, and Midtown High School
Sunday morning kicked off with two tracks of student activity—NHSEB’s Elimination Rounds for those teams which advanced to Quarterfinals, and an exciting slate of Beyond the Bowl programming for those teams which had been eliminated from an exceedingly tough competition. While the “Elite 8” competed to become a “Final 4,” and eventually two Finalists, other teams attended student and coach pedagogy workshops with the NHSEB Staff and graduate community, Case Roundtable Discussions, and enjoyed socializing over pastries and coffee. On Sunday afternoon, our two Finalist teams met head-to-head in Championship Competition: BASIS Flagstaff from Arizona and All Saints Academy from Florida. The cases for the final match were two of our most difficult: Good Grief, asking us to examine how we speak about very public deaths, and Corrupted Contributions on the ethics of donor/non-profit relationships. An all-star panel of judges included Professors Matt Kotzen, Sarah Stroud, and Michael Vazquez of the UNC Department of Philosophy.
Both teams had a tremendous performance in the face of tough issues and probing questions from each other and from judges. After a tight match, the team from BASIS Flagstaff were named the 2024-2025 NHSEB National Champions! After the match, we switched gears into the 2025 End of Year Awards Ceremony, where the NHSEB Staff and Advisory Board announced the following awards:
NHSEB National Champion: BASIS Flagstaff
NHSEB Runner-Up: All Saints Academy
Third Place Finish: Lincoln High School
Fourth Place Finish: Midtown High School
Robert Ladenson Spirit of the Ethics Bowl Award: Dorman High School
NHSEB Coach of the Year Award: Edwin Marks, Penn Charter Pennsylvania
Heely Award—Aesthetic Adversaries: Midtown High School (feat. Pleasant Valley High School)
Heely Award—Besties with Ramses: Hopkins School
Heely Award— Ethics Droll: The Westwood School
Heely Award— Chapel Thrill: The Westwood School
Heely Award—Platonic Rizz: Hopkins High School and Dwight Englewood School
Student Case Competition
Winner: “A Sacred Divide“ by Sefanit Abebe, Wheaton High School
Honorable Mention: “My Camera Eats First“ by Corrine Wang, Lincoln High School
Honorable Mention: “Build a Baby” by Ayushi Wadhwa & Sonia Nikhil, Kent Place & Watchung Hills Regional High School
We would like to thank our community of students, coaches, organizers, and supporters all across the United States - without whom none of the NHSEB program’s impact would be possible. We’ll look forward to seeing you next year!