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CONNECTICUT STUDENT WINS NATIONAL JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT/DELOITTE ESSAY CONTEST

Student applies ethical decision-making and wins $5,000 college scholarship in fourth annual "Excellence through Ethics" essay contest

Colorado Springs, Colo. – Junior Achievement and Deloitte today announced that Laura Ly, age 17, of Shelton, Connecticut is the winner of the national "Excellence through Ethics" essay contest. The contest asked high school seniors to apply their knowledge of ethical decision-making and share their views on the importance of ethics in business by providing a solution to an ethical dilemma. The dilemma was about a teenager working in an insurance office who was pressured by her boss to falsify an insurance application from his friend, who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness but could not afford health care coverage, in order to help him.

Laura's essay was selected by members of the Junior Achievement Blue Ribbon Panel on Ethics, comprised of corporate ethics officers and academicians. The essays were judged on how well the student analyzed the situation, if they presented a well-supported argument in response to the dilemma, and how thoughtfully they articulated the importance of ethics in business.

In her essay, Laura recommended that the young woman resist the pressure from her boss to falsify the application, help her boss's friend by holding fundraisers to pay for his treatment, and engage the media to bring attention to the challenges faced by the uninsured and underinsured. She also recommended that the young woman work with her boss to organize ethics training in the workplace to ensure that the company's policies were above reproach.

The contest is part of Deloitte's $2 million commitment to Junior Achievement to promote ethical decision-making among young people. Results of the fifth annual Junior Achievement/Deloitte Teen Ethics Survey revealed that the majority of teens surveyed (71 percent) feel fully prepared to make ethical decisions when they enter the workforce. Yet, 38 percent of that group believes it is sometimes necessary to cheat, plagiarize, lie or even behave violently in order to succeed.

"Laura demonstrated in her essay a solid understanding of the importance of ethical behavior. Her solution not only recommended an appropriate solution to the immediate issue, but more importantly recognized the need for institutional changes that would foster an ethical environment in the workplace," said Sean C. Rush, president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement. "Junior Achievement is proud to work with Deloitte to provide young people with ethical decision-making tools; our ethics curricula are a key component of our workforce readiness programs."

Junior Achievement and Deloitte recently launched JA Business Ethics™ in a continuation of their $2 million initiative to help young people make ethical decisions. Developed to address the needs of high school students, JA Business Ethics provides hands-on classroom activities and real-life applications designed to foster ethical decision-making as students prepare to enter the workforce. Students examine how their beliefs align with major ethics theories and learn the benefits and advantages of having a code of ethics. Additionally, Junior Achievement recently updated its original Deloitte-sponsored ethics program, Excellence through Ethics™, which is available online at ja.org free of charge and provides age-appropriate lessons for students in grades 4-12.

Business leaders believe that practical application is one of the best forms of instruction. "The essay contest gives every student who submits an essay an important chance to internalize the lessons in the curricula, to think critically, and to make recommendations based on what they have learned," said Ainar D. Aijala, Jr., Global Managing Partner, Consulting, Deloitte and Chairman of the Board, JA Worldwide. "It is a valuable way for students to reflect on and apply the principles of ethical decision-making to real-life situations."

Miss Ly plans to attend Columbia University in the fall.

About Junior Achievement® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 139 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional 4.3 million students served by operations in 118 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, its member firms, and their respective subsidiaries and affiliates. As a Swiss Verein (association), neither Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu nor any of its member firms have any liability for each other’s acts or omissions. Each of the member firms is a separate and independent legal entity operating under the names “Deloitte,” “Deloitte & Touche,” “Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu,” or other related names. Services are provided by the member firms or their subsidiaries or affiliates and not by the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Verein.

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