Ms. Rodriguez, a dedicated math teacher at Horizon International School, is reassigned to teach "Readings in History," a subject far outside her expertise, during the upcoming semester. Despite her success in previously teaching unfamiliar subjects like ethics and science, she feels increasingly inadequate and frustrated, unsure if she can provide the depth of knowledge her students deserve. Guided by her faith and strong commitment to her students, she adapts, but the stress grows as she struggles to stay ahead of the material. When she requests a return to teaching math, her department head praises her versatility and denies her request, leaving Ms. Rodriguez to wrestle with the tension between serving her students and staying true to her professional strengths.

Adam, the CEO of a deep-sea mining company, is faced with a difficult dilemma. He has been granted a license to mine in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a region of the Pacific Ocean rich in minerals essential for clean energy technologies. However, the CCZ is also a fragile ecosystem, and mining is expected to have negative environmental impacts (release of carbon, damage to the seabed ecosystem, etc.). Adam is committed to mitigating these risks, but he is aware that there is no guarantee that his mining operation will have no negative impact on the environment. Adam is also under pressure from investors to deliver profits, and knows that he needs to start mining soon in order to generate revenue. Adam has brought together a team to discuss his options. How would you advise Adam to proceed?

Aaron works at a publishing company, where he was recently promoted from a coordinator to a client management role. As part of his promotion, he was tasked with training his replacement, a new hire named Rachel. While Aaron worked with Rachel and explained to her all of the office’s procedures and systems, Rachel found herself having difficulty, and she expressed to Aaron that the job was more complicated than he had explained. Rachel started going to others in the office for help rather than Aaron, but she continuously made mistakes. Aaron shared with his boss Yolanda that he had trained Rachel and showed her the records, prompting Yolanda to put Rachel on a performance improvement plan. Rachel then quit. When Rachel’s replacement Oliver was hired, Aaron was again supposed to train him and put together a binder of all the information about the job, certain that the binder would be better than how he had trained Rachel. However, Oliver has the same difficulties and ultimately becomes very behind on work, causing Yolanda to again ask Aaron how he had trained Oliver. Aaron feels defeated and wonders if the problem is his training style or if both Rachel and Oliver were just not able to do the job well.

Michelle has worked in sales at a department store for five years, where she initially was supervised by a supportive manager named Amy. Michelle likes her job, which gives her the flexibility to be in school at the same time, and she also likes her co-workers. However, when Amy leaves the store, a new manager named Will is hired. Will quickly develops a reputation for being difficult and providing harsh feedback. During her performance check-in, Will berates Michelle for an email she sent about her schedule for not following a new process and also questions her priorities. Other co-workers have begun leaving the store due to Will’s management style. Michelle wonders if she should stay in her job and, if so, how she should move forward with Will as her boss.

Sandra is an engineer at a technology company, where she collaborates with the research and development team. Despite her feelings that she is meeting and even exceeding expectations, her colleague Mark has repeatedly made comments during team meetings that Sandra requires extra support. Sandra has confronted Mark about these comments, and he responded that he was concerned she would eventually be overwhelmed by the work. Sandra assured Mark that she felt her workload was manageable. However, on their next project, Mark again made comments about Sandra possibly needing assistance. Sandra is frustrated and wonders what to do next. She also feels that Mark’s comments may be motivated by a bias towards her as a woman.

Frances has worked for a pharmaceutical company for a year, a role which she has enjoyed. She is assigned a new project to create social media content for her company with two colleagues, Andrew and Pat, with whom she has not previously worked. Although Frances is excited to take on the new challenge, she finds that collaborating with Andrew and Pat is very difficult and takes a lot of energy. She takes the lead on the project and is glad when it is finished. Frances tells her boss, Maya, about her difficulties, and Maya reveals to her that actually, the social media project was fake and was intended to test Andrew and Pat, who have been having performance issues at work. Frances feels she has been mis-led and isn’t sure what to do next.

Simon is on a sales team with a new colleague, Cheryl. Cheryl has some difficulty adjusting to her new role, and Simon takes on the role of mentoring her. During a team meeting at which Cheryl is not present, Simon sees Cheryl’s boss, Amanda, accidentally continue to share her screen following a slide presentation. Simon reads that Amanda and her boss are considering placing Cheryl on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) due to Cheryl’s difficulties. Simon debates whether he should share what he has seen with Amanda, Cheryl, or both.

Sami is an up-and-coming Project Manager at a construction firm in Johannesburg. Born and brought up in the city of Johannesburg, he loves the work that he does and hopes to make a name for himself by doing quality building at his firm. Sami faces a difficult situation when discouraging children from playing in a construction area that he is in charge of.

Majo is a teacher working with primary school students. She relies on her observations in the classroom environment and the personal connections she had formed with her students in order to know and feel she is doing her job well. During the pandemic, her classes abruptly shifted online, and she was no longer able to see students face-to-face. Due to distractions in their home environments, and the reduced attention span of sitting in front of a screen, Majo and her colleagues found that their students were struggling to remain engaged in online learning. The teaching team debated how to handle their new reality with online teaching. Ultimately, they decided to lessen the number of hours that students were spending in online classes with teachers and to provide more suggestions for at-home activities. However, Majo wondered whether her students were being served well by such a decision, or if they might be losing out on learning and community connections that she had worked hard to achieve during the months before the pandemic began.

Majo is working as an instructor at a summer camp with young children. She knew she wanted to be an educator from a young age and is strongly guided by her Christian religious values in her daily practice as a teacher. During the first few weeks of the summer camp experience, she was particularly troubled by twin students who were emotionally upset and disruptive, but Majo tried her best to form a bond with them. One day, the twins’ mother came to the school and accused Majo of having physically harmed her children. Majo knew she was not responsible and would never commit such an act, which would be a violation of her personal values. She was protected by her boss and exonerated by footage recorded inside the classroom. However, she wondered after the fact if she should have stood up more strongly for herself, and it worried her to be so easily accused of something she did not do.

Joy is a mid-career professional who previously worked in the travel industry. After deciding to switch careers, she recently started a new job at a chemical manufacturing company. Joy set up a process in her new role that helped her get her work done, but she recently discovered correspondence between her supervisor and a vendor representative in which the two discussed a secret deal: the company could dump hazardous industrial waste into the wetland adjacent to the factory in exchange for a discount on raw materials from the vendor. Joy has considered herself a “people-pleaser” in the past, but she also does not want to be complicit in the waste dumping.

Mia is a mid-career professional who worked in a management position at a supply chain logistics company. She enjoyed the practical aspects of her work and found value in helping customers with product tracking. Mia felt fulfilled in her role because she thought of herself as a skilled problem solver, and she enjoyed the relationships she cultivated with various clients. However, her position was recently eliminated. After a difficult job search, she found a new position working in supply chain for a new company. At first, she thought it was an exciting opportunity, but after starting, she worries whether the position is right for her.

Joanna works for a nonprofit group that develops and administers a test that is required as part of practicing a certain profession. During her second year with the organization, she was made aware that the test is biased: white men on average tend to perform a lot better than other groups, and not by a small margin. Joanna was surprised to find out about this inequity but felt reassured by the determination of her colleagues to fix the problem. As the months and years pass by, Joanna suspects that the only way the issue will be addressed is if this information becomes public knowledge. She is hesitant to “blow the whistle,” as she is worried about the repercussions of her actions for her job. At the same time, she knows that the racial bias of her organization’s test score is directly impacting the career progress of many individuals.

Martha lives with her boyfriend, Cameron, in a small one-bedroom apartment. After Martha’s hours were cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cameron, who works in marketing for hospice care, agreed to take on more hours at his job to supplement his income. One day, while Cameron was working from home, Martha overheard him tell a prospective client's family that he was a doctor. Martha knows full well that Cameron is not a doctor at all, and she was surprised to hear him misrepresent himself in this way. Martha confronted Cameron after the call, and he said that he was just doing his job and getting a new patient to sign up for services. Martha feels conflicted. On one hand, she knows that Cameron is doing his best to be good at his job, and part of his job is to convince more people to sign up for hospice care. Cameron’s success at work is more important than ever because his hard work is making up for the pay cut she suffered earlier in the year. On the other hand, she can’t help but be seriously bothered by the fact that Cameron has pretended to be a doctor to get new patients.

Sofia recently moved to a new city to start a new job. She didn’t know anyone in her neighborhood, but she quickly became friends with one of her neighbors, Jenny. Sofia found out that Jenny is very talented at making clothes and jewellery and has a small online store with a modest group of customers. Sofia supported her new friend by purchasing items and even modelled some pieces on her own Instagram account. One day, Sofia noticed that Jenny had added the descriptor “Latina-owned small business” to her site. Sofia was surprised because Jenny is not Latina. Sofia is herself Latina and does not understand why Jenny, a white woman, deemed it necessary to advertise her brand as Latina-owned. After confronting Jenny about the descriptor and receiving an uninspired explanation, Sofia is not sure what to do.

Miranda has worked for a construction company for three years, mostly conducting on-site safety inspections involving lengthy travel. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Miranda started working from home, and inspections for her projects were temporarily paused. As months passed and restrictions eased, Miranda received an email from her boss letting her know that she would be expected to travel by plane to a location for a week to view and survey a construction project. Not only is Miranda worried about travelling and putting herself at risk, but the nature of the project also means that she will be in contact with many people once she gets to the construction site. At the same time, many of Miranda’s colleagues are of the opinion that COVID-19 is “not a big deal.” Miranda is unsure about how to let her boss know that she is not comfortable with travelling for this project. Miranda has also been hoping for a promotion, and she worries that refusing to travel for this project would ruin her chances.

Cassie is a marketing professional in her late twenties who joined a new project at her firm in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges of working remotely, she is proud of her contributions to the project and feels valued by her new team members. However, after downloading the transcript from a recent virtual meeting, she discovered that two of her coworkers had been badmouthing her appearance in what they believed was a “private” chat. Cassie is embarrassed and heartbroken that her colleagues would speak about her in such disparaging terms. She is torn about whether to confront her coworkers, bring the issue to her Human Resources Department, or simply pretend that nothing occurred.

Eliza is a retired former pediatrician who now works as a private language tutor. She often spends time bringing her grandchildren, ages eight and five, to their nearby playground. Her grandchildren recently struck up a friendship with a new six year old girl on the playground, who told them that her mother had “banged her up” at her home for playing on the stairs, so much so that she was in pain on the playground. After hearing about this from both her grandchildren, Eliza is not sure what to do. As a pediatrician, she was a mandated reporter, required to report any child abuse to the required authorities. But she also knows that children can exaggerate or make mistakes; perhaps the mother was trying to keep the child safe, or she had fallen on her own. Eliza is told by a child welfare hotline that it is her decision whether to report or not. Her pediatrician friends urge her to report, and she feels obligated to as a former doctor. But Eliza worries the child could end up in a foster home where she might not be cared for.

Anna is a politically-active middle school teacher. She recently attended a rally in her city in support of progressive causes, including transgender rights. At the rally, a small group of counter-protesters had gathered in opposition, and people were chanting to express hate for the LGBT community. Anna was shocked to see that one of the counter-protesters was a fellow teacher from her school, Claire, who Anna didn’t know well but immediately recognized. Anna decided not to confront Claire but instead snapped a picture of the counter-protestors, including Claire, and posted her photo on social media so that it was visible to her family and friends, including some other teachers at the school. The next day, Anna felt uncomfortable. Several other teachers she was connected with on social media had commented on the photo: some were shocked Claire was in attendance, but others criticized Anna for posting the photo in the first place. Anna wondered whether sharing the photo was the right thing to do and feared that word would get back to Claire.

Madeline is a nurse who works in the emergency room of a hospital. Upon her hiring, she discovered that Paul, one of her classmates from nursing school, also worked at the hospital and would be her co-worker. After working a few shifts together, the two connected on social media. One day, Madeline saw that Paul had “liked” a meme on social media that expressed anti-immigrant sentiment, decrying immigrants as a drain on resources, including healthcare. As soon as she saw the meme, Madeline felt uneasy. The hospital where Madeline and Paul worked served many in their city’s immigrant communities, and Madeline was herself the children of immigrant parents. The meme hit close to home for her. Additionally, Madeline considered herself friendly with Paul, and he was in a more senior position to her on the nursing staff.

Jay and Logan have been co-workers and friends for several years. Recently, Logan started texting Jay a lot, sometimes every day. At first, Jay was happy to be talking to Logan out of work, as they had always been friendly with one another. But Logan was having some family difficulties with his spouse, and his home life had become stressful. Jay wanted to be supportive, but lately the texting had become overwhelming. Furthermore, Jay noticed that Logan wasn’t contributing as much to their shared projects, using his home life as an excuse, which left Jay working overtime in order to meet their deadlines. Jay cared about Logan and wanted to be a good friend. At the same time, the texting was becoming burdensome, and their work wasn’t getting done efficiently. Jay felt it was unfair that he was having to pick up Logan’s slack and put in extra hours. Jay wondered how best to set boundaries with Logan and get their work back on track.

Since childhood, Susan has known that she would become a defense lawyer. She wants to fight powerful people who abuse others, and she works actively to help government and democracy in general work effectively. Once, when Susan was representing two individuals on death row and lost the capital trial in state court, Susan and her fellow defense lawyers had to decide whether to file an appeal. A group of civil libertarians with whom she had been working urged her to wait five years because filing an appeal was likely to set back the statewide fight against the death penalty for a number of years. However, both of Susan’s clients were scheduled to be executed within that time, so Susan chose to appeal the decision, thus saving her clients’ lives.

Thomas is a genome scientist and geneticist at a pharmaceutical company. He works on identifying gene targets for drug development. When Thomas was finishing up the last couple of months of his residency during medical school, he was asked by his favorite doctor, someone he viewed as a mentor, to assist with his private practice patients. One night soon after Thomas started this work, one of Thomas’s professors was brought into the hospital in the middle of the night in a deep coma after having attempted suicide. Fortunately, Thomas and his mentor were successful in saving the professor’s life. However, when Thomas’s mentor looked over the notes on the case, he said that Thomas had “missed the diagnosis,” and that the patient had been brought to the hospital due to “an acute asthmatic attack.” Thomas quickly realized that he was being asked to help cover up a suicide attempt. Although he followed his mentor’s directions and changed the diagnosis in the patient’s file, he did not feel at all comfortable about the situation.

Patrick is a young medical resident who is “passionate” about his work. After his sister died of leukemia during his senior year in college, Patrick became a Christian in order “to find meaning in life,” and he now feels deep ties to Christianity. Patrick has long been concerned with issues of social injustice, and he sees becoming a doctor as his way of helping the poor. After completing his formal medical training, he wants to establish his own orphanage in Bolivia, where he has worked with children before. Patrick’s very strict moral and ethical standards for himself and his work are visible. He makes decisions according to his understandings of right and wrong, and understandings based on his Christian beliefs. Because of these beliefs, Patrick refers patients to his colleagues if there is an issue that is in conflict with his values. He does not care if he gets a “bad rap” or a “bad mark” as a resident.

Beth is the director of a repertory theater and teaches at a school of drama. While Beth feels that collaborations in theater are most often wonderfully exciting and generative, she has experienced some that are chronically bad and some that have reached a critical point at which she has asked an actor to leave the play. She remembers casting an actress who turned out to be a non-functioning alcoholic, and she realized soon after rehearsals started that the actress had to be fired. However, she said that she felt “a terrible sense of responsibility to this woman,” and she wondered if she might be precipitating a crisis in the actress’s life by letting her go. Beth nonetheless maintains that there “was no question that this was the right course of action.”

Noah is an environmental virologist and an Albert Schweitzer Fellow. For the duration of his Schweitzer fellowship, Noah has worked on a music program at a school that serves students with “extreme” behaviors. When his father died of a heart attack, during Noah’s adolescence, Noah was unable to deal with the loss in a healthy way. He became dependent on drugs, and frequently became “side-tracked” during his college years. In part because his father was a helpful and important role model for him, he tries to provide healthy and positive mentorship for the students at the school. Noah is deeply spiritual, and describes two guiding principles: (1) to love God “as you understand it,” and (2) to love one another. His beliefs are his greatest source of motivation. Noah also explains how Albert Schweitzer, the humanitarian in whose honor the Schweitzer Fellowship was established, has served as an important mentor and role model for him. Noah believes that we can follow Schweitzer’s example in order to “change the world for good.”

Renee is a 38-year-old American working towards a post-graduate degree abroad. Renee spent the past 12 years of her career working in international education. Before leaving her post to pursue her own education, Renee served as Director of Study Abroad at a mid-sized public research university in the US. Renee describes a time, early on her career, when she was instructed by her superior to block a student with disabilities from study abroad. At the time, Renee reached out to others, including the human resource department at her university, but was met with silence. Ultimately, the student did not go abroad. Renee was deeply troubled by the experience and has dedicated her energies to advocating for student rights ever since.

Sofia, a 34 year old Mexican woman living in Nicaragua, runs a social program on emotional education. As the head of her program, she has faced many challenging decisions. In difficult times, she is compelled to reflect on her personal values of “integrity, honesty, responsibility, resilience, growth mindset, and spirituality”. Sofia describes a time when she was approached with a business deal to sell expensive equipment--which had been given away as donations--to local hospitals. The deal was lucrative, but in sharp contrast to her stated values. Sofia ultimately turned down the offer and held steady in her convictions.

Gail has served as a criminal defense attorney for twenty-three years, and she was appointed a federal district court judge in the mid 1990s. She is a highly principled person, and she feels that her values shape her decisions in her professional life. Early on in her career, when she was having trouble finding cases, she was approached with a request to represent a woman charged with “flim flam,” which was basically an elaborate scheme to steal money. After Gail initially agreed to represent the woman and received full payment on the spot, she changed her mind and returned the money. Although many would argue that Gail had a responsibility as a lawyer to represent anyone who needed it, she said that the woman clearly had resources with which to locate and hire other legal representation, and she said that there was nothing the woman had done with which she cared to be involved. Despite having made a decision that felt in line with her values, she still questions whether she made the correct professional decision.

Sarah, a 15-year-old high school student known for being responsible, finds herself at a party with her best friend Lila and a new group of friends who pressure her to vape. Lila, who has started experimenting with vaping and marijuana, urges Sarah to join in, calling her a “buzzkill” for hesitating. Surrounded by peers and feeling the weight of their judgment, Sarah is torn between wanting to fit in and her own values, including her parents' trust in her to make smart decisions. As the group waits for her to act, Sarah holds the vape in her hand, unsure of what to do.

Luis, a 16-year-old first-generation immigrant, is under immense pressure from his parents, who sacrificed everything for him to succeed in the U.S. They expect him to excel in school, maintain straight A's, and be a role model for his siblings, while also juggling varsity soccer and a part-time job to help with family expenses. When he gets a D on a history exam, his parents are disappointed, grounding him and reminding him of their sacrifices. Luis is exhausted, anxious, and struggling to balance everything, feeling torn between meeting his parents' high expectations and protecting his own mental health. Should he continue pushing himself to meet their standards, or confront them about how overwhelmed he feels, risking their disappointment?

Liam, a 17-year-old high school junior, is torn between his academic goals, basketball commitments, part-time job, and social life. With a major history paper due, extra basketball practices for the state semifinals, and pressure to join his friends on a weekend camping trip, he’s struggling to balance it all. His parents push him to prioritize academics and sports, but Liam is feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and unsure if he's sacrificing too much. He must decide whether to focus on schoolwork, support his team, or take a break and enjoy time with his friends, knowing each choice has significant consequences.

Emily, a high school senior, feels overwhelmed by the pressure to choose a college major while most of her friends seem certain about their futures. She enjoys various activities but lacks a passion for any specific subject, leaving her unsure of what career path to pursue. Her parents encourage her to pick a practical major like business or computer science, while her counselor suggests a gap year, an idea her parents oppose. Emily feels torn between choosing a "safe" major, taking a risk on something she might enjoy, or delaying her decision altogether, fearing that making the wrong choice could impact her future.

Maria, a 19-year-old sophomore and the first in her family to attend college, feels overwhelmed by academic pressure, financial strain, and uncertainty about her future. She’s considering dropping out or taking a year off to work and explore career options but fears disappointing her family, especially her proud mom. Though she’s seen others online benefit from taking time off, Maria worries about never returning to school or falling behind her peers. Caught between staying in school and risking burnout or taking a break and facing uncertainty, Maria feels torn about her next step. Should she stay in college or take a year off?

Sophia, a high school senior, is torn between two very different college options: Ridgeview University, a large, prestigious school her parents favor for its career opportunities, and Greenfield College, a smaller liberal arts school where she feels she would thrive in a close-knit, supportive environment. While Sophia’s parents push her toward Ridgeview and even threaten to withhold financial support if she chooses otherwise, she’s drawn to Greenfield’s scholarship offer and the chance for a more personalized education. As decision day approaches, Sophia faces a difficult choice between following her parents' wishes for stability and prestige or pursuing her own vision of a fulfilling college experience at Greenfield.

Sona is an exchange student from India studying for one semester at a private university in Australia. She has been assigned to work with a group of her classmates on a project with which she is not completely familiar. The group of students who are all from Australia have worked with each other before. They are also working with a person from India for the first time. Being in a new environment, Sona is a little shy in participating in the group and despite being a good student is usually quiet in group discussions. A few weeks later, when Sona shares her reflection in the group, her teammates make comments about how good her English is ‘for an Indian’. This is not the first time that Sona has experienced passive racism. There has been more than one incident where Sona’s teammates have made comments about her culture or have cast her in a stereotypical mould. Sona feels uncomfortable and hurt by these incidents.

Jonah is a rising college senior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although remote learning procedures were implemented, the college eventually decided to allow only the senior class back to campus for their final year. This decision came with strict health and safety protocols. Jonah was concerned about the potential risk of returning but was reassured by his friends that they all intended to be safe. Unfortunately, “safe” had different connotations for his friends than for Jonah. Soon after returning to campus, Jonah witnessed his friends flaunting the college’s guidelines. Jonah began to pull away from his friends, whose behavior he saw as increasingly negligent. Concerned for his own health as well as the safety of others in the community, Jonah felt torn about whether to report his friends’ behavior to the school or maintain his loyalty by keeping quiet.

Lisa is a first-year college student during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her college has decided to remain open for students. Though quite shy herself, Lisa is happy to be assigned a very sociable roommate also within her major. Lisa takes her studies--and the school’s strict honor code--seriously. Unfortunately, Lisa’s friendly roommate, Eva, does not share the same academic integrity. After noticing Eva looking up answers online during a remote exam, Lisa is distraught. Because of her timidness in making new connections, Lisa feels dependent upon Eva to introduce her to new friends and build her social community at the school. At the same time, the policy regarding remote learning explicitly prohibits online searches during exams. Should Lisa report Eva to her professors, or turn a blind eye to blatant disregard for academic honesty?

Alex was recently accepted to a prestigious college and joined a private online group made up of other accepted students. In the group, students were exchanging inappropriate jokes. Some jokes were hateful towards certain groups of people. Alex was taken aback by what the other students were sharing, but also unsure of what college would be like and anxious to make new friends. After reading some of the other students’ posts, Alex contributed a joke that mocked a minoritized group. A few weeks later, the college's admissions team learned about the online group and decided to take back admissions offers from students who contributed hateful content, including Alex. Alex was no longer welcome to attend the university.

Julie is a junior in high school who is very committed to theater. Julie, like many of her friends, is self-conscious about her appearance. She has noticed that one friend in particular is struggling with an eating disorder, which concerns Julie. When Julie served as a counselor at an all-girls summer camp, she was struck by how comfortable all of the campers looked in the photos. It sort of “hit” her that she had not seen pictures of herself or her friends looking un-self-conscious in a long time, and she says she is sick of feeling insecure and watching her friends struggle with the same issues. Her experience at the camp helped her to realize that she wants to use theater to help young women be successful and to feel empowered.

Sophia is eighteen years old and about to graduate from a high school for the performing arts. Sophia has always loved performing, but theater became a deep passion for her during her high school career. However, a couple years ago, she encountered a difficult situation related to her chosen line of work. Because her parents do not subsidize her acting, Sophia wanted a paying acting job. After mailing out her headshots and resumes, she eventually landed a role in an independent film that she did not know much about. As part of her role in the film, Sophia was asked to do something sexual that made her very uncomfortable, and that she felt was wrong; however, she did not know what the consequences of saying “no” would be. For two years after this experience, Sophia stopped looking for any acting work outside of school.

Rosa is a young journalist. One typical workday, a few months into her position, Rosa was instructed by Jeremy to go and “stake out” the home of a family whose child had, a few hours beforehand, been injured in a collision with an automobile while riding a bicycle. Rosa faced a dilemma. On the one hand, she felt that, as a reporter, it was sometimes her job to report tough or tragic stories, and that she needed to uphold expectations as a journalist for The Daily by trying to get all the information she could. On the other hand, she felt that she would be “crossing a line” to try to get a family statement immediately after they had been notified of the child’s death, likely their “worst nightmare.”

Gwen is a senior at a performing arts high school, where she studies drama. As a senior, she faces a difficult decision. Gwen is eighteen, which means she’s old enough to work, but she has also been accepted to the drama program at one of her top-choice schools. Should she enroll in college and continue to learn the art of theater? Or should she start acting professionally, learn from real-life experiences, and draw on the many connections she currently has? To complicate matters even more, Gwen’s parents are not in a financial position to cover all of the expenses of her education, and she has not been offered a scholarship anywhere. If she chooses to continue her education, it will clearly involve a great deal of expense.

Nick is a high school senior who is deeply committed to acting. Nick explains that drama is not the cool thing to do at his high school, and students who do drama are one of a few groups who are regular targets for bullying. Nick faced a particularly difficult situation when he and a friend were cast in a musical production. Nick was looking forward to improving his singing and dancing skills. However, some of the other students, who had frequently bullied the drama club members in the past, came to the rehearsal and started recording it without Nick’s consent. Nick was unsure whether or how to confront the bullies, who were making him uncomfortable.

Karen is a young newspaper reporter. As an entry-level journalist, her primary source of competition comes from summer interns who are recruited from undergraduate journalism programs. Karen believes that competition is “good for the soul,” and some of her best work has been produced in response to the competitive atmosphere and her reluctance to be outdone by the interns. However, this competitiveness has a downside: Karen believes that “the cardinal rule of journalism is truth-telling,” yet her desire to provide readers with important information has at times led her to use dishonest means to get stories. For instance, she has misrepresented herself in order to get interviews. She says that “there are times for dishonest tactics” if these tactics are in the service of telling the truth in a story.

Emma is graduating from high school this year, and has just sent in her acceptance letter to attend college. She is an aspiring scientist, and she is extremely dedicated to her work; however, she also feels very committed to her friendships. The sense of responsibility that she feels toward her friends was tested during her senior year when her friends got into serious trouble for hacking into the high school computer system. Emma knew what her friends were doing, and she never said or did anything about it because she didn’t want to “rat” on them. As a scientist, Emma also feels strongly that withholding information can have disastrous effects, and she feels that it “violates the entire reason for doing research.” Emma seems to have different standards for her personal life and “professional” work.

Heather is twenty-two and a senior theater student. In her senior year as an undergraduate, she is struggling with messages she gets from teachers about how she should try to market herself in what she is “best at.” Heather says that she doesn’t want to be “pigeonholed,” or not win a particular role because she does not look a certain way. She struggles with issues of body image and questions whether she is “pretty enough” to be successful. Although she does not rule out the option of plastic surgery, she struggles with the idea that a change in physical appearance can make someone more or less appealing and more or less qualified for a role. She would like decisions to be based on skill and talent.

Rob is a seventeen-year-old high school actor. Rob’s father is very opposed to Rob’s interest in theater, and several years ago tried to redirect him toward activities that are more conventional for boys in their town. A year ago, Rob’s father told him that he could no longer be involved in theater at all. For six months, Rob avoided all theater activities, and sank into a deep depression. Finally, he ended this hiatus (against his father’s wishes), and was cast in a high school production. Despite his father’s opposition, Rob has sustained his passion for theater, and has decided to major in musical theater at a conservatory program.

Debbie is a high school senior and the editor of her school newspaper, The Gazette. Debbie takes her position at The Gazette very seriously. Her goal as Editor is to balance the paper’s content for the broad audience of students, faculty, alumni, and parents, which can prove challenging. Recently, during an open meeting for admitted students, a student accused the administration of ignoring rapes on campus, and these allegations began to circulate across the country. Debbie had to decide whether The Gazette would print a story covering the incident. While these allegations were an important story, she knew that as soon as anything about the incident appeared in the school newspaper, it would spread farther and could potentially be damaging to the school.

Jesse is a young high school actor. During his school’s Spring Drama Festival, Jesse was fortunate enough to be cast in two different shows—a striking affirmation of his talent. His first show was a wonderful but draining experience, and he became involved in the second show right after finishing the first. Jesse was tired, both physically and emotionally, and, in addition, the second show was not of the same caliber, and he felt he didn’t understand where the director wanted to go with the material. As a result, he had a very negative attitude in rehearsals, and finally, a fellow member of the cast who was a close friend approached him about it. She told him that the rest of the cast was getting a very “negative vibe” from him.

William is a high school junior at a science and technology school. He has always loved science, and his interest in science led him to pursue research in high school. He is currently a student researcher at a nearby college, where he has had a chance to work independently on biology experiments. He says he chose to take the research position because of his “love of research.” However, William says that after he earned first place in a science competition, he became more interested in participating in research projects for the prize money. He says that some of the competitions he wants to enter do not allow research projects involving live animals, so he is willing to forgo the projects that most interest him in hopes of winning.

Elena is a high school student in New Jersey who immigrated with her parents to the United States from Mexico at a young age. She is proud of her Hispanic heritage, and she volunteers at a cultural center after school to share her culture with others. However, Elena notes that Hispanic people are treated unfairly in America, something she has witnessed personally with her father, who often has a difficult time staying employed in the construction industry. She is currently required by her school to take part in a senior internship experience, and she is applying for a few different opportunities. She wonders if she should “hide” certain aspects of herself, such as her full name and experiences related to her ethnicity, from her resume when she is applying for the internships in order to eliminate the possibility that she will be discriminated against by hiring managers. Ultimately, she decides that it is better to represent herself truthfully, come what may.

James is a senior in high school and chair of the school’s weekly newspaper. James takes his responsibilities as chair seriously. He wants to put out a high-quality newspaper each week, and at the same time, wants the staff to enjoy their work. When James began to work at the paper, the motto was “When in doubt, make it up.” James changed the news room culture, and now encourages staff members to feel personally accountable for their work every week. He also recently established an Association of School Journalists, the goal of which is to “encourage the study of journalism in local communities … and serve as a forum for the exchange of administrative and editorial ideas among partner schools.” He gives up a great deal for his work, including personal time, time for homework, and time for other activities. Nonetheless, he feels the experience he has gained makes it worth his time.

Allison is a high school student who worked in a neurobiology lab one summer with the intention of submitting her project to a science competition. Allison decided on her own to work on a learning experiment involving mice, despite the fact that her supervising professor had warned her that projects based on neurology and behavior of “live” animals do not seem to capture the fancy of the judges. Allison maintains strong values about the ways in which scientists should work. However, knowing that she was unlikely to win the Intel competition because she worked directly with animals, Allison decided to hide the truth in her research paper. Allison phrased her paper carefully to make it seem as though she had not actually handled the mice directly. In the end, Allison was named a semifinalist and won a college scholarship worth $2,000. She was accepted to college, where she has chosen to pursue scientific research.

Mara is a ten-year-old gymnast who dreams of winning a gymnastics championship. Mara feels a great deal of pressure from her mother and two coaches to succeed and move to the next level. Originally, her mother was simply supporting Mara’s interest and desire to be involved in gymnastics, but now she takes more of an active role in her participation and sometimes applies a great deal of pressure. A few weeks ago, Mara felt tired, and her dad let her take the day off instead of attending an optional Sunday lesson. When Mara’s mother found out, she was angry with Mara, and made her feel guilty.