UM Ethics Bowl Team

The Ethics Bowl Team at the University of Michigan started as an undergraduate fellowship project under Professor John Chamberlin in 2009. It was then funded and sponsored by the Center for Ethics in Public Life. The team started with a group of motivated undergraduates who developed their own curriculum. The Center was de-funded in 2012, but through the perseverance of the students, the team continued to compete. Since its founding, the Michigan Ethics Bowl Team has qualified for nationals twice. In addition to the ethics bowl competition, the team has participated in ethics based events on the Michigan campus as well as the Ann Arbor area. 

Cullen O’Keefe is a senior and current co-chair of Ethics Bowl at Michigan.  He is majoring in both Philosophy and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and minoring in Gender & Health.  Originally from Birmingham, MI, Cullenjoined Ethics Bowl during his sophomore year after learning about it from an interview  posted by A2Ethics with then-co-chairs Tracey Fu and Hasenin Al-Khersan.  Since then, Ethics Bowl has been a central part of his college experience.  Cullen's ethical interests include bioethics, social justice, action theory, and political philosophy.  Outside of Ethics Bowl, Cullen works as a Resident Advisor in West Quadrangle with the Michigan Community Scholars Program (MCSP, a social justice living-learning community), volunteers with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC), and supports TransForm (a transgender rights group affiliated with the Spectrum Center).  Cullen has studied at the Hastings Center and worked for the National Center for Transgender Equality.  For fun, Cullen likes to read, run, watch TV, listen to podcasts, and write.
Amanvir Mandair is a junior at Michigan from Dexter, MI. He is current co-chair of Michigan Ethics Bowl, is a pre-med student, and is also majoring in Bioethics. Aman joined ethics bowl in his sophomore year after discovering it on Maize Pages and speaking with then-chair Patrick Baumhart. His ethical interests include bioethics, race and ethnic relations, religious ethics, war ethics, ethics relating to technology, and history. Outside of Ethics Bowl, he volunteers at the UM hospital and works as a tutor at the Sweetland Center for Writing. His tutoring interests also extend to volunteer work for the Grace Care Center, an orphanage and elder care facility in Sri Lanka through which he tutors orphans in English via Skype. He also enjoys reading, using Netflix, weightlifting, and playing the dilruba (an Indian string instrument).
Isabel Geracioti is a senior from Nashville, Tennessee, majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Computer Science. She is new to Ethics Bowl this year and has a particular interest in gender equality and artificial intelligence. She is also a member of the University of Michigan's Ice Carving Team and works two jobs here in town--one at the alumni center and one as a writer for Ann Arbor Holistic Health. She spends her free time coding, playing guitar and writing non-fiction. 
My name is Joseph Shim and I’m a senior and member of the Ethics Bowl at Michigan. I recently changed my major to Economics and minoring in Philosophy. I am originally from South Korea to study in new environments and gain broader experience. I applied for the Ethics Bowl during junior year and I will start participate in following semester. My ethical interest includes political philosophy and moral philosophy. For non-academic interests, I like to listen to music, watch movies or work out at gym. I transferred from Michigan State University in junior year and I became interested in philosophy at that time. So I don’t have much experience with philosophy but I enjoy thinking about issues related to philosophy and I am expecting to participate in Ethics Bowl.
My name is Kate Leary and I am a member of the Michigan Ethics Bowl team! I discovered philosophy as a freshman in college upon taking Moral Problems and Principles, leading to my, now, major in philosophy and interest in ethics. My specific interests in ethics involve bioethics largely along with political philosophy. Within the field of bioethics, I am very interested in patient autonomy within the patient-physician relationship facilitated by full and honest disclosure from both sides. My pursuit of ethics related opportunities outside of the philosophy department has led me to the Ethics Bowl Team. Alongside philosophy, I take many science courses in physics, biology, and chemistry in hopes of attending medical school after my undergraduate years. My biggest career goal is to incorporate my love of ethics into my life as a physician. Outside of the classroom, I am a research assistant for an endocrine surgeon at UMHS. There I process CT scans of Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma patients for different fat, muscle, and bone measurements. Also in the hospital, I volunteer at the Ronald McDonald's House in Mott's. Another place I spend a large portion of my time is at Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea as a shift manager. In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends.