“I started out with this narrow plan to study Spanish and excel academically,” says Sullivan. Explore Rollins Gateway, © 2020 Rollins College | 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789 | 407.646.2000. “Right about now I should be teaching English to a classroom of high-schoolers in Medellin, Colombia,” she says from her family’s home on the north side of Chicago. Four years ago I would’ve been anxious about having no clear answer. Shannon Sullivan is originally from Chicago who currently resides in Florida to attend Rollins College. From left: Mirabella Kirk ’20, Shannon Sullivan ’20, and Kenzie Helmick ’20. Once I presented to the class, Dr. Brown said to me, ‘You know, you could actually do this.’ After that I was determined to pursue HIV-related research. The bookwork is important, but I really learned to understand the world from opening my mind to the stories of people.”, It’s hard to believe Sullivan when she says she’s “a natural introvert.” As an RA at Rollins, she mediated for students and families. “I took Arabic and scuba diving. A trio of recent graduates carries forward Rollins’ long legacy of Fulbright Scholars. She loved learning so much that she threaded it all into a second major in international relations, where she fused her passion for languages and other cultures. She assigned an end-of-semester project to choose anywhere in the world to conduct a hypothetical HIV-focused research project. Kenzie Helmick ’20, Mirabella Kirk ’20, and Shannon Sullivan ’20 have been awarded 2020-21 Fulbright Scholarships to participate in the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Helmick—one of Rollins’ six 2020 valedictorians—will explore issues of women’s reproductive health in India, while Kirk will conduct HIV research in Lesotho. “It gave me a huge confidence boost.”, Sullivan enrolled at Rollins with her twin brother, Conor ’21, for the small classes, but the mentoring went to an unexpected level. I served as a 2018 Millennium Fellow to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 30 campuses worldwide (just 11%) were selected to host the 402 Millennium Fellows in the global pilot this year. As we only have three members, I feel like I am an essential part of keeping this foundation and all the opportunities it offers alive at Rollins College. “That trip showed me that I could find creative solutions to unique problems,” says Sullivan. 15.3k Followers, 612 Following, 899 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Shannon Sullivan (@shannonhsullivan) In fact, Sullivan became so well-rounded that she earned a prestigious 2020 Fulbright Scholarship. Dr. Jay and Fulbright Scholar Nico Khazzam ’18 mentored me through the application process, turning my dream into a reality.” Post-Fulbright plans: “Programs like Fulbright are essential to help bring countries together and foster connections between individuals from around the world. I'm an International Relations and Spanish major, with a possible minor in sociology. Helmick, Kirk, and Sullivan will be the 50th, 51st, and 52nd Tars to participate in the Fulbright Program since 2006. I am originally from Chicago but I moved down to Florida to attend Rollins College. United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2018. I’ve wanted to be a diplomat, a teacher, a restaurant owner, a singer-songwriter. Shannon has 5 jobs listed on their profile. “I wanted to be a straight-A student, but that first semester taught me to relax and enjoy the experience,” she says. She laughs easily and speaks confidently for someone who not long ago would be highly stressed about having no firm plans beyond tomorrow morning. We have successfully created policies and procedures to protect our peers’ privacy. At the end of Sullivan’s first semester, a disappointing A-minus kick-started a change about her view on a Rollins education. My research in Lesotho will provide a foundation for working with HIV globally, and a degree in public health will enable me to work with other prevalent diseases as well. View Shannon Sullivan’s profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. “He put his complete trust in me during the study abroad trip for Verano Espanol. Jayashree Shivamoggi, director of Rollins’ Office of External & Competitive Scholarship Advisement, provides critical support in the process, which can span several years, helping students fine-tune their aspirations, including the desired destination and area of service. In the three months the application was open in 2018, students applied to join the Class of 2018 on 285 campuses across 57 nations. Sullivan takes the uncertainty in stride because at Rollins she learned about something else that can’t be quantified with a price or a GPA: herself. The Student Support Foundation provides emergency grants of up to 200 dollars to students in need. She toured prospective students as a Rollins Diplomat. I can see myself working in reproductive health or sex education, involving grassroots mobilization efforts, or freelance writing about feminist issues.”, How Rollins prepared her: “Taking the Drugs, Sex, and HIV class with anthropology professor Shan-Estelle Brown exposed me to devastating facts. From studying abroad to holding leadership roles in several student organizations, Shannon Sullivan ’20 shares the pivotal waypoints on her personalized pathway through Rollins. My name is Shannon Sullivan. Rollins has been named a top producer of U.S. Fulbright Scholars eight times. A visit to her office is the first step on your own prestigious path. She is an International Relations and Spanish major, with a possible minor in sociology. Classes have challenged me intellectually, emotionally, and physically. How do you put a value on that?”, What does Sullivan see herself doing in five or 10 years? From him I learned to take life in steps and to be calm in a crisis, like when a student loses a wallet in a foreign country.”, Jayashree Shivamoggi, director of Rollins’ Office of External & Competitive Scholarship Advisement, shepherded Sullivan through the arduous Fulbright Scholarship process. We are also reaching out and partnering with other college campuses to elevate our own resources, and are working to create additional resources for our peers in need in a way that can be replicated at other institutions. With the flexibility I was given both inside and outside of the classroom, I was able to dive into anything that I had even a glint of interest in, and there were resources there to support me along the way.” The Fulbright Program, launched following World War II, supports research and study across 140 countries. Here’s what the trio of global ambassadors revealed as they completed their time at Rollins and journey to the next step in their meaningful lives and productive careers. ", Millennium Fellowship Project: The Student Support Foundation. I even lived with Spanish-speaking farmworkers for a few weeks. Food & Immigrant Cultures in Central Florida, Office of External & Competitive Scholarship Advisement, My Rollins Gateway: The Music of Medicine. How Rollins prepared her: “Winning the Fulbright wouldn’t have been possible without the connections and experience I gathered through my student-faculty collaborative research with philosophy professor Margaret McLaren during my third year at Rollins. Spanish professor Alberto Prieto-Calixto convinced Sullivan she could be a compassionate leader. In fact, we are scheduled to be featured on our college's social media stories in the upcoming weeks. Get Started Today, © 2020 Rollins College | 1000 Holt Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789 | 407.646.2000, Office of External & Competitive Scholarship Advisement, 7 Rollins Students Named Fulbright Scholars, Edwards, Reyes, Wallace Named Fulbright Scholars, Rollins Named Top Producer of Fulbright Students. “The pandemic has made us realize that plans can easily be derailed.”. During my time at Rollins, I also studied in Chile, Spain, and Costa Rica. This gave me a lot of confidence because after facing that challenge, having a normal conversation in Spanish seemed much easier by comparison.” Spanish professor Alberto Prieto-Calixto convinced Sullivan she could be a compassionate leader. Kenzie Helmick ’20, Mirabella Kirk ’20, and Shannon Sullivan ’20 have been awarded 2020-21 Fulbright Scholarships to participate in the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. That scholarship funded our trip to India, where I gained a lot of firsthand experience doing research. Shannon Sullivan ’20 learned how to sail at Rollins. But at Rollins I developed this great pivot point, and from it I can change my answer as often as things around us change—and that will always be a great position to be in.”, __________________________________________________________, Learn more about how the opportunities Sullivan had at Rollins defined every step of her journey and start charting your course to personal and professional success. I made a solar oven in a Physics of Light class. Sullivan wants us to know there’s far more value in all of this—from pilates to political science—than one might think, or than she thought. As Florida's first college, we have quite the reputation to uphold. Post-Fulbright plans: “I hope to pursue a doctorate in medicine and public health to become a doctor and make a difference for others. A trio of recent graduates carries forward Rollins’ long legacy of Fulbright Scholars. Our mission is to provide students with the resources that allow them to pursue their educational goals and remove obstacles that would prevent them from completing their educational journey. I'm an International Relations and Spanish major, with a possible minor in sociology. Estoy estudiando Español y Relaciones Internacionales. United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Connect with Shannon via Instagram United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. My name is Shannon Sullivan. She also learned how to cook tostones from scratch and how to make a potato clock in a pinch. 30 campuses worldwide (just 11%) were selected to host the 402 Millennium Fellows in the global pilot this year. Today, she views change as inevitable—and as her ally for life. Me llamo Shannon Sullivan y soy una estudiante de segundo año en Rollins College. ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2018. https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/shannon-sullivan.html During the Millennium Fellowship, Millennium Fellows' dedicated 48,785 hours and their 214 unique projects positively impacted the lives of 393,449 people worldwide. Get the degree you want within our College of Liberal Arts, Holt Evening School and top-rated MBA program within the Crummer Graduate School of Business.