This April, I had the privilege of representing Montgomery College at the 2025 International Business Ethics Case Competition (IBECC), where our team was honored with first place in our league for both the full 25-minute case presentation and the 10-minute ethics round, and runner-up in the 90-second elevator pitch. Among 20 institutions from around the nation, we were the only community college in the competition – a fact that made the experience even more meaningful.

Hosted at San Francisco State University, IBECC brings together students to explore ethical challenges facing today’s businesses. With the guidance of judges from the corporate ethics and compliance world, teams are asked not just to present a case, but to offer thoughtful, realistic solutions.

Our team focused on Meta’s use of publicly available Facebook content to train its AI tools, such as Llama and Meta AI. We identified that, while Meta offers an opt-out option, it’s often hidden, unclear, and difficult to access. Our proposal focused on simplifying the opt-out process and encouraging Meta to invest more in ethics and compliance, while giving users more voice and choice in how their data is being used.

Competing at IBECC is an eye-opening experience teaching us that ethical business isn’t just about policies – it’s alsoabout people. Moreover, it’s about listening, communicating clearly, and leading with integrity. Most of all, it’s a great demonstration of how students from different backgrounds and institutions can contribute meaningfully to global conversations.

I’m deeply grateful to the Macklin Business Institute for the chance to take part in this experience, to our advisor, MBI Coordinator, Professor Brian Baick, and MBI Program Director, Steve Lang for all guidance and support. This experience reinforced that the future of business must be guided by ethics and students like us have a tangible role to play in building a more responsible, inclusive economy.