By Meg Hibbert
Main Street Newspapers
What's the right thing to do? What's the wrong one? High school students from four Roanoke County schools -- Northside, William Byrd, Cave Spring and Glenvar -- found answers were not so clear cut as they debated ethical behavior in specific cases last week, during a half-day "Ethics in the Workplace" workshop.
The Oct. 27 event at the Salem Civic Center was sponsored by Valley Character, a community-wide organization dedicated to raising the level of character in Roanoke Valley young people and parents through innovate character development programs.
Commenting after the workshop, Byrd marketing class senior Katheryn Pascal said, "We learned about values, morals, how to make decisions and knowing what interviewers for jobs like, as well as things you don't want to say."
Byrd junior Kristina Kelly explained their marketing teacher, Jill Morris, encouraged them to attend. In addition to Pascal and Kelly, other Byrd students who attended were Krysten Walker, Carrington Leonard, Kellye Looney and Holly Bailey.
Cave Spring High School Center for Visual Arts senior Cody Greene added, "It really starkly contrasts with the world we're familiar with. We're artists; we're not making business decisions."
Fellow CSHS senior Rachel Freeman agreed. "This workshop made me realize I need to think deeper about the decisions I make, even if it is just decisions I make every day."
Hannah Garman, a Glenvar High School senior, said the workshop "made me realize there is a lot more to ethics. It makes you see the decisions you'll be making once you get into the work place."
Garman was the only GHS student who took part in the event. In addition to Freeman and Greene, other CSHS students who participated were Jaclyn Atkinson, Keely Peters and Justin Yu. No students attended from Hidden Valley High School.
The 25 students and 30 adult business representatives were directed through two practical exercises in ethics and discussions by leader Michele Dowdy, coordinator of school counseling services and student records for Roanoke County, and WDBJ-TV weatherman Robin Reed.
"Definitely, decisions are difficult to make. Any decision will have a consequence," she told them.
