Shores volleyball, tennis athlete honored for honesty
UNITED WAY IN THE NEWS
February 15, 2006
By Julie Stevens
C & G Staff Writer
Regina High School senior Eileen DiSante had a story.
So, at the urging of Athletic Director Diane Laffey, the 18-year-old St. Clair Shores resident decided to tell it.
And through a local essay contest sponsored by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the volleyball and tennis athlete won more than she expected — a scholarship for her honesty.
DiSante received a $3,000 academic scholarship through the Ethical Athlete Award Essay Contest during a kick-off program at the Sports Career Expo, an official Super Bowl XL event sponsored by Why Not Sports, Inc., held Feb. 2 at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.
She was among 40 metro Detroit high school seniors in the contest. Brownstown Township resident Nicholas Kovach, a senior at Gabriel Richard High School, received a $5,000 academic scholarship for his essay.
According to Thomas Dekar, vice chairman for Deloitte & Touche, an audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory service company, DiSante and Kovach demonstrated exemplary behavior when faced with issues of moral, ethical or legal consequences.
“Nicholas Kovach and Eileen DiSante personify the spirit of ethics in action,” Dekar said, adding that he hopes to see the awards program continue during next year’s Super Bowl. “Their accounts show how powerful it is to live your values, despite pressure from peers and society to do otherwise.”
Dekar said a 2005 survey by his firm and by Junior Achievement Worldwide suggests the problem of ethics has crept from the boardroom to the classroom. He said that although the survey found that the number of teenagers who said they would act unethically to get ahead if there was no chance of getting caught had dropped to 22 percent from 33 percent in 2003, many might not keep their conviction under pressure.
The survey found that more than 40 percent of the youth admitted that they might act unethically if instructed by their boss and more than a third would likely lie to their boss to cover up a mistake.
“We, as a community, and a family, need to instill in our children at a young age the importance of personal integrity, ethics and making the right choices,” said Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. “(We) want to recognize and honor these two outstanding youth who made a choice to do the right thing.”
Eileen DiSante’s story
“With each successive year, the importance placed on integrity within society becomes less and less,” DiSante says in her essay. “Instead of failing with honor, people place a higher value on success — no matter the means for achieving it. The human race has forgotten that the worth of a life lived lies in the integrity of that life. Today, numerous amounts of people contrive dishonest ways to accomplish even the most insignificant task. We are only cheating ourselves when we are dishonest.”
DiSante said that a little over a year ago she had an experience that had caused her to reflect on her own personal integrity.
“It was the Regional Tennis Championship, my junior season of tennis playing for Regina. My team was predicted to qualify for the State Tennis Finals. My entire team had worked extremely hard to improve our tennis skills. My partner and I worked hard in learning to play together and we were eagerly awaiting the upcoming matches. I felt confident in us and knew that we could be successful.
“My parents have always taught my brother, sister, and me to be honest — even if it meant sacrificing things we cherished. Honesty had become a very important principle to me. It was ingrained into my character and without thinking, it became a part of my day-to-day decisions.”
DiSante said that during the regional tournament, her team was doing great and they were well on their way to advancing to the state finals.
“My partner and I advanced all the way to the championship round. It was a close match and towards the end of the third set, we lost sunlight and had to move to an indoor venue. Keeping our edge and not losing our focus was all my partner and I could even think about. Finally, we got to match point and my partner hit what she thought was the winning shot! But much to our surprise, the opposing team called the shot ‘OUT.’ Everyone cheering us on went ballistic and began calling the opposing team liars and cheaters.
“My partner was adamant that her shot was in; equally adamant were the girls on the other (team) saying it was out. My partner and the girls on the opposing team continued to argue. We had no line judge to make the final decision. My partner finally looked at me and yelled, ‘You saw the ball, it was in, right?!’”
“From where I had been standing on the court, I had seen the ball land out. For a moment I almost agreed that the ball was in and we won the match, but, my conscience pricked me and my decision became apparent. I told my partner what I saw and went over and congratulated the opposing team. My partner was furious with me. I told my coach what had happened and she thanked me for my honesty.
“So we lost that match, but I gained something greater. That day, we placed second at regionals. It wasn’t first, but the lesson I learned was far more important.”
DiSante plans to study engineering at either University of Michigan or University of Detroit Mercy.
“I really think that this (the essay contest) is a good idea,” DiSante said last week. “I hope they (the organizers) continue to do it.”
You can reach Julie Stevens at jstevens@candgnews.com
February 15, 2006
By Julie Stevens
C & G Staff Writer
Regina High School senior Eileen DiSante had a story.
So, at the urging of Athletic Director Diane Laffey, the 18-year-old St. Clair Shores resident decided to tell it.
And through a local essay contest sponsored by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, the volleyball and tennis athlete won more than she expected — a scholarship for her honesty.
DiSante received a $3,000 academic scholarship through the Ethical Athlete Award Essay Contest during a kick-off program at the Sports Career Expo, an official Super Bowl XL event sponsored by Why Not Sports, Inc., held Feb. 2 at Cass Technical High School in Detroit.
She was among 40 metro Detroit high school seniors in the contest. Brownstown Township resident Nicholas Kovach, a senior at Gabriel Richard High School, received a $5,000 academic scholarship for his essay.
According to Thomas Dekar, vice chairman for Deloitte & Touche, an audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory service company, DiSante and Kovach demonstrated exemplary behavior when faced with issues of moral, ethical or legal consequences.
“Nicholas Kovach and Eileen DiSante personify the spirit of ethics in action,” Dekar said, adding that he hopes to see the awards program continue during next year’s Super Bowl. “Their accounts show how powerful it is to live your values, despite pressure from peers and society to do otherwise.”
Dekar said a 2005 survey by his firm and by Junior Achievement Worldwide suggests the problem of ethics has crept from the boardroom to the classroom. He said that although the survey found that the number of teenagers who said they would act unethically to get ahead if there was no chance of getting caught had dropped to 22 percent from 33 percent in 2003, many might not keep their conviction under pressure.
The survey found that more than 40 percent of the youth admitted that they might act unethically if instructed by their boss and more than a third would likely lie to their boss to cover up a mistake.
“We, as a community, and a family, need to instill in our children at a young age the importance of personal integrity, ethics and making the right choices,” said Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. “(We) want to recognize and honor these two outstanding youth who made a choice to do the right thing.”
Eileen DiSante’s story
“With each successive year, the importance placed on integrity within society becomes less and less,” DiSante says in her essay. “Instead of failing with honor, people place a higher value on success — no matter the means for achieving it. The human race has forgotten that the worth of a life lived lies in the integrity of that life. Today, numerous amounts of people contrive dishonest ways to accomplish even the most insignificant task. We are only cheating ourselves when we are dishonest.”
DiSante said that a little over a year ago she had an experience that had caused her to reflect on her own personal integrity.
“It was the Regional Tennis Championship, my junior season of tennis playing for Regina. My team was predicted to qualify for the State Tennis Finals. My entire team had worked extremely hard to improve our tennis skills. My partner and I worked hard in learning to play together and we were eagerly awaiting the upcoming matches. I felt confident in us and knew that we could be successful.
“My parents have always taught my brother, sister, and me to be honest — even if it meant sacrificing things we cherished. Honesty had become a very important principle to me. It was ingrained into my character and without thinking, it became a part of my day-to-day decisions.”
DiSante said that during the regional tournament, her team was doing great and they were well on their way to advancing to the state finals.
“My partner and I advanced all the way to the championship round. It was a close match and towards the end of the third set, we lost sunlight and had to move to an indoor venue. Keeping our edge and not losing our focus was all my partner and I could even think about. Finally, we got to match point and my partner hit what she thought was the winning shot! But much to our surprise, the opposing team called the shot ‘OUT.’ Everyone cheering us on went ballistic and began calling the opposing team liars and cheaters.
“My partner was adamant that her shot was in; equally adamant were the girls on the other (team) saying it was out. My partner and the girls on the opposing team continued to argue. We had no line judge to make the final decision. My partner finally looked at me and yelled, ‘You saw the ball, it was in, right?!’”
“From where I had been standing on the court, I had seen the ball land out. For a moment I almost agreed that the ball was in and we won the match, but, my conscience pricked me and my decision became apparent. I told my partner what I saw and went over and congratulated the opposing team. My partner was furious with me. I told my coach what had happened and she thanked me for my honesty.
“So we lost that match, but I gained something greater. That day, we placed second at regionals. It wasn’t first, but the lesson I learned was far more important.”
DiSante plans to study engineering at either University of Michigan or University of Detroit Mercy.
“I really think that this (the essay contest) is a good idea,” DiSante said last week. “I hope they (the organizers) continue to do it.”
You can reach Julie Stevens at jstevens@candgnews.com
Labels: InTheNews
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6:20 PM
Joscelyn Andrews, MBA, of Rochester Hills, was named area director of United Way’s Oakland Area Office. She has more than 15 years of experience in the public and private sector in strategic planning, corporate communications, and organizational change strategy. United Way first hired Andrews in 2004 as director of Strategy, charged with overseeing the development of the strategic framework to create United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
Dara Munson, MPA, of Southfield, was named area director of United Way’s Detroit Area Office from director, Community Investment Strategies. She has more than nine years in the human service field in service delivery, program planning and implementation, and grant making. Prior to joining United Way, Munson worked at Black Family Development, Inc. and for the Wayne County Department of Community Justice.
Joseph A. Impellizzeri, of Macomb, has been named director of the Capital Campaign and Initiatives funding. The Capital Campaign focuses on high-wealth individuals, corporate and foundation gifts to support signature initiatives of United Way, such as the 2-1-1 call center. In addition, the Capital Campaign will support the Nonprofit Facilities Center, a joint program of United Way for Southeastern Michigan and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, which seeks to strengthen the capacity of nonprofits to plan, finance and develop facilities. Impellizzeri has more than 10 years experience in the nonprofit and fundraising field.
