The contest will challenge students to compose a 500-word essay in response to an ethical dilemma in which teenagers could find themselves. One winner will receive a $5,000 college scholarship from Deloitte, and will be honored at JA's Global Business Hall of Fame event in St. Louis next April. Essay submissions will be accepted on JA's Web site and via U.S. mail. The contest will run until December 31, 2004.

The ethics essay contest is part of the "Excellence through Ethics" initiative created with Deloitte's $1 million grant to JA. "Excellence through Ethics" is a supplemental curriculum comprised of 28 lessons designed to emphasize ethical decision-making and the importance of ethical behavior. The lessons are taught in grades 4-12.

Essay submissions will be reviewed by members of the Junior Achievement Blue Ribbon Panel on Ethics, an advisory board of noted authorities on ethics and corporate ethics officers.