A “Family” of Sullivan Scholars at Rollins College

It’s hard for most college students to get up in time for an 8:00 a.m. class. But at Rollins College, a selfless group of "Sullivan Scholars” get up even earlier —on Saturday mornings —to donate their time at "The Gathering,” a downtown Orlando effort to provide food and clothing to the homeless.

"The most significant part of serving others is the realization that there’s more to the world than what you see outside your front door. It helps you understand all the things you can do to make a difference in your community,” says Erin Dickerson, a Sullivan Scholar who graduated from Rollins in May 2009 and now works as an admissions counselor.

Rollins Sullivan scholarship and award recipients are not that different from other Sullivan honorees across the 54 campuses that take part in the Sullivan legacy. What’s different is that Rollins has intentionally pulled its Sullivan recipients together into a service-minded "family.” Through the Sullivan Scholars program (begun in 1936), Rollins galvanizes the spirit of service that its individual Sullivan recipients bring to the table into a unified force for good deeds on and off campus.

"Our Sullivan Scholars are considered the cream of the crop,” says Rev. Dr. Patrick J. Powers, Dean of the Knowles Memorial Chapel, Chaplain to the College and leader of the Sullivan Scholars program. "They have distinguished themselves by the character of their lives. Through the Sullivan Scholars program, we’ve created what we call the ‘Sullivan Family’ of individuals who work together to make our common life better.”

The "family” feel pervades the program and extends to the broader campus. Sullivan Scholars host an annual free "Pancake Flip” for the student body at the end of each semester, and offer a "cupcake and a hug” to all students during mid-terms. They also throw a surprise pizza party for facilities management staff once a year. Many Sullivan Scholars also serve as peer mentors, helping incoming classes find their way and adjust to their new lives on campus. And Sullivan Scholars are always among students in campus leadership positions.

Off campus, Sullivan Scholars lead other students in conducting various service projects, such as feeding the homeless, conducting a T-shirt drive to collect old Rollins T-shirts and other clothing for needy people, cleaning nearby beaches, or taking the lead in non-Sullivan service activities and making other students aware of community needs.

Sullivan Scholars also take responsibility for choosing new honorees. Rev. Powers facilitates a thorough nomination and selection process, during which each nominee reads a biography of Algernon Sydney Sullivan and then submits an essay or creative work that conveys his or her personal philosophy of service and how reading the biography has influenced his or her views. From a pool of about 30 nominees, the selection committee ultimately must choose 6-8 new members to join the "family.” According to Powers, it is rarely an easy choice.

Every new Sullivan Scholar receives a monetary reward, and one receives a half-tuition scholarship. The "family” welcomes its new members once a semester with a special induction dinner. At the dinner, each new Sullivan Scholar is given "the secret,” a monetary reward to spend any way he or she feels best in the service of others.

Rollins has named nearly 1,250 Sullivan Scholars since 1934, and holds each of them in the highest esteem. Many alumni stay connected to the program in some fashion and engaged in lives of service. It is typical that one or two of the graduating Sullivan Scholars receives the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion at the Commencement exercises. Several have become forces for philanthropy during their lives, including: Warren C. Hume (’39), former IBM executive and founder of The Warren and Augusta Hume Foundation; F. Duane Ackerman (’64), former chairman and CEO of BellSouth Corporation; Joanne Byrd Rogers (’50), concert pianist and wife of the late Fred M. Rogers (’51) of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood fame; and Dana R. Ivey (’63), a stage, film and television actress.