The event, held since 2015, brings students from River Bend, Minnesota Valley Lutheran, Cathedral, and New Ulm Public schools. After watching videos and presentations in the morning, the club gave students a chance to put their skills to the test.

Seven groups of six students were given control of a large company named ACTive Inc. The company had several issues involving ethics. The company was caught using child labor overseas, company data was hacked in a cyberattack, and the vice president of manufacturing was misusing company funds.

Responding to these issues was the main focus of the activity, which St. Thomas professor and co-founder of this activity David Rodburne said are based on real-life scenarios.

“This exercise mimics the kinds of things companies like Nike, Gap, Adidas, and several others have encountered,” he said. “When they source materials from overseas, they have to decide whether those are ethically produced.”

A student participates as a member of the public, responding to the actions being taken by the presenting company. Most questions challenged the presenters on their actions and the effects.

Rodburne said the program has not changed much since it was invented 20 years ago, as many of the problems then still exist now. The people involved in these problems have changed throughout time.

“If you’re getting cotton from China, who’s producing?” Rodburne said. “Is it produced by a group incarcerated in a re-education camp aimed at a particular ethnic group like the Uyghurs in northwest China? If you’re getting this cotton from there, what do you do about it? Do you use it? How do you deal with that?”

After going through these dilemmas, a representative was chosen from each group. These people acted as a spokesman for their version of the company, while the rest role-played as different types of public figures. The three most common were concerned citizens, journalists, and stockholders. As these figures, they would listen to the company’s response and ask pointed questions regarding ACTive Inc.’s plans in the short and long term.

Junior MVL student Claire Woller acted as both her group’s representative and a concerned citizen when other groups were presenting. While many were nervous as their plans were picked apart by the public, Woller said she enjoyed the pressure.

“I love public speaking,” she said “I enjoyed when people challenged my ideas because it allowed me to think deeply.”

Rotary Club member Duane Lafferenzen laughs with a pair of high school students during their ethics project. The exercise was designed to teach students about ethics in business while also being fun.

Woller runs her own business called Claire’s Confections, a small bakery selling gluten-free baked goods. From this position, she said there is plenty from the project she can use tangibly.

“Talking about my business practices and things I found work for me,” Woller said. “Also helping [others] because it’s really hard for me to help other people who sell the same thing as me. Keeping that in mind and helping other people too [is important].”

For those interested in participating in the future, Woller gave some advice.

“You don’t need to prepare for anything,” she said. “Come and be ready to talk to people because it’s a lot of talking to your group mates.”