Students Start a New Chapter for Workplace Ethics

When students enter the workforce, they expect their skills to be tested. But what happens when their workplace tests their character?

Maybe a coworker accepts gifts from a vendor or puts private data into a public AI service. Or a supervisor encourages them to skip a safety protocol or backdate an official document.

Members of the Ethics Club intend to be ready. “This a safe space for students to discuss ethical dilemmas they might be going through or that they think they might go through in the future,” said club President Gabrielle Catelan Miragaia Dias ’27. 

The club is part of the University’s Center for Ethics. This year, the club added a chapter of the Student Center for the Public Trust. It is one of more than 60 at universities across the country and only a handful in Florida. Although the national group is part of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the club and chapter at UTampa have a broader focus and are open to all students.

One benefit of the new chapter is the opportunity to complete ethical leadership certification and education programs, including a national conference. The chapter also is planning to participate in a video contest that demonstrates how they would use critical thinking to address an ethical dilemma they might face as young professionals.

The chapter is recruiting guest speakers and approaching organizations about collaborating on a community service event.

“Firms are looking for ethical employees,” Dias said. “It says a lot about you if you are part of an organization like this.”

Students who want to get involved can sign up through Involve. Once they have attended a meeting, they can apply to the chapter and pay an annual $10 fee that goes toward club funds.