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Student Project Showcase 2025

2025 Student Project Showcase

This special edition of our Ethics Spotlight highlights ethics fellowship and internship projects prepared by students during the 2024-25 academic year. Browse the projects below.
2023-24 Student Fellowship and Internship Projects
Ranking Choice Voting Ballot Sample
Navigate here to Is Ranked Choice Voting Worth It?

Is Ranked Choice Voting Worth It?

Christian Barnard '26 explores strengths and weaknesses of ranked choice voting and its ethical outcomes.

Multiple tents line the edges of a tree-lined city park near a Whole Foods grocery store. Image by Monica via Adobe Stock.
Navigate here to Ethical Arguments For and Against San Jose’s Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

Ethical Arguments For and Against San Jose’s Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

JP Best '25 explored ethical issues regarding homelessness and potential solutions to address such issues. 

U.S. Supreme Court building, Washington D.C. Photo by Tom/Adobe Stock.
Navigate here to Examining the Ethical Implications of Presidential Immunity

Examining the Ethical Implications of Presidential Immunity

Bailey Black '25 was a government ethics fellow examining presidential immunity through the justice and common good ethical lenses. 

A rainbow flag is hanging on the side of a church building. Photo by Bertrand Colombo on Unsplash.
Navigate here to LGBTQ+ and the Catholic Church

LGBTQ+ and the Catholic Church

Grace Davis ’25 explores the ethics of relationships between the LGBTQ+ Community and the Catholic Church.

Arden DiCicco ’25, Jessica Garofalo ’25 Presenting their project at the SCU Sustainability and Environmental Justice Student Research Symposium on March 11, 2025.
Navigate here to Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Arden DiCicco ’25  co-authored a paper on the ethical dimensions of the levee failure in the unincorporated community of Pajaro, California.  

Hannah Hamawi, Arden DeCicco, Jessica Garofalo, and David DeCosse at the Pajaro Levee on March 1, 2025.
Navigate here to Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Jessica Garofalo '25 co-authored a paper on the ethical dimensions of the levee failure in the unincorporated community of Pajaro, California. 

Hannah Hamawi ‘27, and Mahi Shah ‘28, presenting their project at the SCU Sustainability and Environmental Justice Student Research Symposium on March 11, 2025.
Navigate here to Investigating Justice Issues and the Pajaro Levee Failure

Investigating Justice Issues and the Pajaro Levee Failure

Hannah Hamawi ’27 co-authored a paper on the ethical dimensions of the levee failure in the unincorporated community of Pajaro, California. 

What do you think about AI at SCU? Laptop computer and robot.
Navigate here to AI Ethics in the Classroom

AI Ethics in the Classroom

Tara Khambadkone '26 looked at the ethical implications of AI in the classroom via surveys exploring professor and student perspectives.

Knowing the Self: Guides to Discovering Who You Truly Are: Video Series with Noah Kisiel, 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
Navigate here to Knowing the Self: Guides to Discovering Who You Truly Are

Knowing the Self: Guides to Discovering Who You Truly Are

Noah Kisiel ’26 explored campus ethics through ways that SCU students could have more meaningful relationships with their work while being more capable of cultivating and elevating their passions.

Medical amnesty policy reform viewed through the Common Good and Care Lenses.
Navigate here to The Common Good and Care Lenses in Action: SCU Medical Amnesty Policy Reform

The Common Good and Care Lenses in Action: SCU Medical Amnesty Policy Reform

Claire Krebs ’26 focused on how SCU's Medical Amnesty Policy could be reformed through the common good and care ethical frameworks. 

Ethical Lens in action. A group photo of the 2024-25 Campus Ethics Team at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the overall goals for their campus ethics project.
Navigate here to Ethical Lenses in Action

Ethical Lenses in Action

Anna Mulderink ’27 was a part of the campus ethics team and was involved in projects that focused on cultivating ethical thinking and decision making in students.

A cluster of tents and personal belongings situated roadside. Ross D. Franklin Associated Press
Navigate here to Ethical Arguments For and Against Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

Ethical Arguments For and Against Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

Alicia Nelson ’26 explored ethical issues regarding homelessness and potential solutions to address such issues. 

Business Ethics Internships at Intel
Navigate here to Business Ethics Internship at Intel

Business Ethics Internship at Intel

Chisomaga Nlemigbo ’25 was a business ethics and legal compliance intern at Intel Corporation.

Lowrey Infants: Triplets Rebecca, Jessica, and Rachael laying side by side swaddled in baby blankets. Photos by
Navigate here to Addressing the Ethical Implications of the Over Medicalization of Childbirth in the U.S.

Addressing the Ethical Implications of the Over Medicalization of Childbirth in the U.S.

Madison Patrick ’25 explores the ethical implications of the over medicalization of childbirth in the U.S.

Baptismal records, 1870 Census record relating to Gilbert Pitre and Eugenie Lemelle.
Navigate here to The Catholic Church and the Institution of American Slavery

The Catholic Church and the Institution of American Slavery

Gabrielle Pitre ’26 examined the historical role of faith in Christian Black communities amidst discrimination.

A cluster of tents and personal belongings situated roadside. Ross D. Franklin Associated Press
Navigate here to Examining San Jose’s Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

Examining San Jose’s Proposed Three Strikes Law for the Unhoused

Natalya Salaices ’25 explored ethical issues regarding homelessness and potential solutions to address such issues. 

Hannah Hamawi ‘27, and Mahi Shah ‘28, presenting their project at the SCU Sustainability and Environmental Justice Student Research Symposium on March 11, 2025.
Navigate here to Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Investigating Justice Issues in Pajaro Levee Failure

Mahi Shah ’28 co-authored a paper on the ethical dimensions of the levee failure in the unincorporated community of Pajaro, California. 

Before you Prompt by Zara Shroff, 2024-25 Hackworth Fellow with the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Navigate here to Before you Prompt: Conversations on Ethics, AI, & the Future of Creative Work

Before you Prompt: Conversations on Ethics, AI, & the Future of Creative Work

Zara Shroff ’25 examined the ethics of AI in creative work and how AI will shape the future of creative careers.

Making Ethical Choices: A Student Guide to Ethical Lenses. Blue sky, green grass, flowers and smiling woman with long blonde hair..
Navigate here to Everyday Ethics: Frameworks in Action

Everyday Ethics: Frameworks in Action

Caroline Smith ’25 created a project that makes ethical frameworks more approachable and accessible for students to engage with on a daily basis.

What do you think about AI at SCU? Laptop computer and robot.
Navigate here to AI Ethics in the Classroom

AI Ethics in the Classroom

Sophie Smithstanza ’26 looked at the ethical implications of AI in the classroom via surveys exploring professor and student perspectives.

 Controling Lives, Denying Care: The crisis of health and transparency in detention centers and how they violate core bioethical principles
Navigate here to Controlling Lives, Denying Care: The Crisis of Heath and Transparency in Detention Centers

Controlling Lives, Denying Care: The Crisis of Heath and Transparency in Detention Centers

Jamie Son ’25 examined the health and transparency issues of detention centers in the U.S. and the ethical implications of such violations.

Computer screen displaying a financial graph showing financial gains and losses.
Navigate here to Findings on Ethical Behavior in the Finance Industry

Findings on Ethical Behavior in the Finance Industry

Edward Sorenson ’25 raises questions and looks at how ethics plays an integral role in the way any given business operates, particularly within the finance industry.

Outlining the stories of migrants and the ways in which U.S. policy fails to protect undocumented migrants.
Navigate here to Dignity Ignored: Telling the Stories U.S. Policies Ignore

Dignity Ignored: Telling the Stories U.S. Policies Ignore

Yasmin Urzua-Gutierrez ’25 researched U.S. immigration policy through the ethical lenses of rights and justice.

Outlining a research project exploring the experiences of Black students in today's evolving socio-political climate.
Navigate here to Justice and Care Lens

Justice and Care Lens

Hydeia Wysinger '25 worked as a student director with the Campus Ethics Team and used the justice and care ethical lens to explore the experiences of Black students.

Person holding a ballot box with image of U.S. flag on the side. By Mikhail Nilov via Pexels.
Navigate here to Voting Rights Laws and Their Ethical Implications

Voting Rights Laws and Their Ethical Implications

Ainsley Zapata ’26 was a government ethics fellow who examined the recent trends in voting rights restrictions and their ethical implications.

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