For this Ethics Bowl captain and special education major, leadership isn’t about the loudest voice—it’s about the quality of the conversation.
For many, a competition is about winning. For Mary Baldwin University senior Emma Wadovick, it’s about the quality of the conversation.
Wadovick, a special education major and Spanish minor from Chesapeake, recently helped lead MBU’s Ethics Bowl team to a landmark performance. But to hear her tell it, the trophies are secondary to the process. Unlike traditional debate, which often prizes aggressive rhetoric, the Ethics Bowl focuses on fostering respectful, multi-faceted discussions about the moral dilemmas facing the modern student.
“Ethics Bowl isn’t a traditional debate,” Wadovick explains. “It’s more about really considering what we might be faced with in the future. It’s a perfect example of being able to have a different perspective from someone else and still respect each other.”
Leading Through Inclusion
Now in her second year with the team, Wadovick was asked by a new faculty advisor, Professor of Practice in Theatre Johnny Williams, III, to serve as captain.
Her leadership style was immediately defined by a single goal: ensuring every voice was heard. In an environment where one or two speakers can easily dominate, Wadovick focused on the collective.
She recruited students from the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) where Wadovick serves as an RA, knowing that their shared living space and close-knit community would translate into a stronger team dynamic. “It didn’t hurt that we all lived in the building together,” she says. “It’s easy to work together when you’re friends like that.”
That cohesion was put to the test at the state competition. While competing against teams primarily composed of philosophy and business majors, MBU’s diverse squad — led by Wadovick — offered a broader range of perspectives. They finished with a stellar 3-1 record. The performance was so strong that despite the fierce competition, MBU was selected as a finalist based on the strength of their individual scores.
Above: Wadovick (center left) and the team celebrate Ethics Bowl achievement
For Wadovick, the success wasn’t just about the win; it was about the connection. “It’s a little awkward in the beginning because you always want to make a connection with the other teams, but it’s easy to feel competitive,” she says. Breaking those barriers is a skill she carries into every other corner of campus life.
Supporting the Exceptional
Wadovick’s commitment to advocacy isn’t limited to the Ethics Bowl podium. As a Resident Assistant (RA) for the PEG program, she applies her academic background in special education to her daily life.
“As a special education major, I frequently work with students with exceptionalities,” Wadovick says. “I believe in supporting every part of a student. The PEG RA position requires more involvement — weekly events, exceptional students — and I felt like I’d be a good fit for that.”
This spirit of service led her to the presidency of the Education Leaders Learning Collective (ELLC). Under her leadership, the group balances high-stakes professional development, such as Praxis exam preparation, with community-building events like boba tea socials.
Every member completes 20 co-curricular hours a semester, whether volunteering in local schools or coaching youth sports, ensuring that MBU’s future teachers are as active in the community as they are in the classroom.
A Renaissance Approach to Education
Wadovick’s resume reveals the skills she’s developed in time management. She maintains a 4.0 GPA while serving as a tour guide for admissions, the historian for Alpha Mu Gamma (the Spanish Language Honor Society), and a member of the Baldwin Honors Program.
Above: Wadovick leads a group of students and families on a campus tour
Her curiosity often takes her outside her major. Last semester, she served as a teaching assistant for Biology 101. “I’ve gotten into taking classes like biology, which I didn’t know I’d ever have an interest in,” she notes.
Even her creative outlets serve her professional goals. A frequent performer on the local stage, Wadovick has appeared in productions of Into the Woods, Fiddler on the Roof, and Anastasia with ShennanArts and the Waynesboro Players. This background in performance and communication even spilled over into campus spirit; last year, a t-shirt she designed was put into production and sold at the campus store.
The Future of the Classroom
Everything Wadovick does — the theater, the ethics discussions, the biology TA-ing — funnels back into her primary passion: special education. Her favorite course, Transitioning Exceptional Learners, focused on helping high school students plan for their lives after graduation. For Wadovick, the work is about practical, real-world impact.
While she originally planned to teach elementary school, a practicum placement at a local middle school changed her perspective. She found herself drawn to the middle school age group, where students are beginning to develop their own ownership of learning.
“It’s a lot of problem-solving,” Wadovick says of her future career. “Special education means you meet a student who has unique problems, goals, and skillsets. You have to look at every individual student and develop plans for how to help them succeed. My favorite conversations with students begin with asking, ‘What do you need?’ or ‘How can I help you?’”
Currently substituting in local middle schools on her days off, Wadovick is already putting those strategies to work. Her ultimate goal is to earn a master’s degree and become a special education supervisor, ensuring that the systems meant to support students are as empathetic and inclusive as the team she led to the Ethics Bowl finals.
“I had the intention to get an individualized, personalized experience for me at MBU,” she says. “Sitting in my room doesn’t feel like an option when there are so many things I can go out and do and learn.”