The Ethicality of Confidence by Aurora

The Ethicality of Confidence by Aurora - August 2023 Scholarship Essay

While in high school, I made the most of my opportunities as a student and member of my community through volunteering as the president of Key Club, receiving my International Baccalaureate diploma, as well as earning my Biliteracy Seal in Spanish. These achievements have helped propel me to become the person I am today, but my proudest achievement is my involvement and success in my school’s Ethics Bowl team. It is an experience I remember most fondly, one that I feel immense pride for, as I was able to continue to learn more about philosophy beyond my class, compete with my team, and develop my presentation and persuasive-argumentative skills. In order to have the time to participate in this club, I needed to manage my IB requirements and extracurricular responsibilities.
In school, I tended to focus on the stressful aspects of my life, which were pursuing my IB Diploma and organizing projects for Key Club. My mathematics class was especially difficult for me, as I had never encountered such challenging math concepts before that point in my education. Vectors and calculus probability flooded my brain, and I was struggling to stay afloat. I was so fortunate, however, to have been able to sign up for math tutoring with Mr. Peter Gregory through Varsity Tutors. Soon, I felt more confident in my math skills and I began to speak up more frequently in class. I had previously been too embarrassed to ask for help in my classes, fearing that it would show that I was not smart enough for IB. With tutoring, I learned how to ask for help. This gave me the confidence I needed to expand my knowledge and feel comfortable. I finally started to find my voice in the classroom and felt more comfortable, and with my new confidence, I soon found my place on my school’s Ethics Bowl team, a club devoted to respectful ethical discussions.
When I joined the team, I felt comfortable enough to contribute my ideas to conversations that would be judged for how well we addressed our topics. We dissected personhood down to its base characteristics, we discussed who is in charge of censorship, and even the ethicality of heritage schools. During the meetings, we made bold claims that we had to reinforce with logic and examples. The conversations were uncomfortable at first, but this feeling was familiar to me because of the way I faced my challenges in math and how tutoring gave me the tools to succeed. As our team continued exploring the cases, the questions of ethicality became less daunting. Just as I found with tutoring, I knew that we could work logically through our issues, and find relief in a consensus. The club members, myself included, began studying classic philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, John Rawls, and John Stuart Mill. We worked individually so that when we met, we would be ready to have an informed discussion. As the talks continued, my teammates and I found that our ideas began to fit together cohesively, complementing each other to create a single claim. Our presentation skills grew along with our knowledge of the cases, and finally the day of the competition arrived.
We argued as a team and did so with confidence. With every team that we faced, we debated ethical issues and supported our claim with the logical framework that we had practiced. Yet, the beauty of these discussions was that despite practicing for hours on end as a group, another team could present a valid aspect of our argument that had not yet been considered. For this reason, this competition showed me the balance between confidence and humility. With this in mind, our team encouraged conversations while still preventing contradictions in our original framework. After 8 hours of nonstop debate, our team succeeded and became regional champions.
Not only did my time in Ethics Bowl teach me the nuances of ethics themselves, but I also learned about the importance of presentation and collaboration. Our team’s arguments would not have been as well-rounded without the diverse perspectives from each member. This experience taught me that I have to believe in what I say and do, thus leading by example. I must have the confidence in my skills and integrity that will allow others to understand my point of view. It still is important, however, to remember that the possibility for another approach remains--so it is crucial to keep an open mind. My team’s win in the regional Ethics Bowl competition was my opportunity to display my new presentation and collaborative skills--which I now can take into my career. When advocating for an idea, I now have the practice and confidence to promote it with ambition and logic. This achievement encouraged me to invite diverse perspectives when discussing an issue and to remember that my ideas are valuable as well. As a young woman and aspiring civil engineer, I must know how to have confidence and present my ideas for a site plan. In my future, I intend to oversee the design and construction of infrastructure, but in order to do that, I must collaborate with others and advocate for my own ideas. My achievement is that I have already demonstrated that I can do this, and that I have the capability to be successful--all I needed was to build my confidence.