Sullivan Fellows program inspires students to embrace leadership and service roles
Many college students dream of making the world—or at least their community—a better place, but don’t know where or how to start. That's where the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation comes in.
The Sullivan Foundation was created by George Sullivan in 1930 in honor of his parents Algernon Sydney and Mary Sullivan, who were noted philanthropists. The organization partners with colleges and universities throughout the southeastern United States to provide scholarship and training opportunities to students who are passionate about leadership, service, entrepreneurship, and making a difference.
At Lees-McRae College, up to four rising sophomores are chosen each year to be Sullivan Fellows. The Fellows Program is a three-year training plan that helps students develop their strengths and coaches them through creating an impact project they can implement in their community. Throughout the year, the Sullivan Foundation hosts service projects, retreats, and study abroad opportunities that teach students different skills and introduce them to new experiences.
A total of 11 Lees-McRae students currently participate in the Sullivan Fellows program. Students apply for the program and are chosen based on their interest in becoming changemakers.
One Fellow, senior Psychology major Rebecca Ryan, grew up participating in service opportunities with her family and learning from her mother about the importance of networking, which made her a natural fit for the Fellows Program. Over the past three years, she has seen herself grow as a person through activities that challenge her and introduce her to new experiences.
“I think the biggest thing about being in college is seeing the different pathways you can take,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t have done an ORM minor if I didn’t go to Alaska, I wouldn’t think about business and entrepreneurship if I wasn’t in Sullivan Foundation, so being able to network, learn different pathways, and see the ideas these young entrepreneurs are thinking about was really cool. I feel like pretty much every new experience I do just opens up a new pathway for me.”
Sullivan Fellows attend two retreats a year, one in spring and one in fall. During their sophomore year, Fellows learn what it means to be a leader and about different leadership styles. The retreat programming for juniors focuses on relationship building and networking. In their senior year, students take what they have learned and put together a capstone project that solves a problem or creates positive change in their own community.
Senior Business Administration major Sandra Mason said that when she first became a Fellow, she actively avoided taking on leadership roles because she wasn’t ready for the responsibility leadership required. After attending her first retreat, she realized that she thrived in leadership positions and that she was doing herself and those around her a disservice by not embracing something she was naturally good at.
“Before Sullivan, especially for me, it was easy to just stay where I was comfortable,” Mason said. “Sullivan definitely pushes you outside of your comfort zone. They helped me step into my passion and my strengths and helped me put that together to help others. Because it’s all about helping others.”
Each retreat, project, and training session hosted by the Sullivan Foundation is designed to help students become changemakers by playing to their strengths, and students are encouraged to find projects that resonate with their own passions—which is how junior Outdoor Recreation Management and Wilderness Medicine and Rescue double major Lilly Anthony first got involved.
Anthony is a member of the Lees-McRae dance team, and the previous captain, Bea Adams, was a Sullivan Fellow. For her community project, Adams worked with the rest of the team to establish afterschool dance classes for local children through a partnership with the Avery County YMCA. Participating in the project and getting to use something she was passionate about to improve her community made Anthony interested in joining Sullivan as well.
Since becoming a Sullivan Fellow, Anthony has become even more motivated to make an impact, and she describes attending the retreat as “an energy boost.”
“There was a guest speaker there who went on this road trip to just spread joy and positivity to people, and it was just about her being open minded and going and talking to people,” Anthony said. “I think it resolidified the fact that I want to help people. I have a lot of ideas about spreading positivity and change, and there are lots of other people on campus who want the same thing. It’s cool to be part of a community like that where everybody wants to do good.”
What unites all Sullivan Fellows is their drive to learn new skills that they can apply both in college and after graduation. Ryan, who is passionate about service, joined other Fellows to assist in disaster relief after Hurricane Helene. For her senior project, she helped bring the service-based organization Circle K International (CKI) back to Lees-McRae as an official student club. Mason’s talent for leadership was beneficial when she served as the captain of the women’s basketball team her junior year, and the skills in networking and relationship-building she strengthened through the Fellows Program helped her thrive in her internship with Camden Property Trust. Another Fellow, junior Business Administration major Sarah Rudd, regularly applies her leadership training in her roles as a resident assistant, orientation leader, and member of SAC.
Rudd was particularly struck by an observation made by Jody Holland, PhD, a professor at The University of Mississippi and the Sullivan Foundation’s Faculty Engagement Specialist. “He said that he talks to a lot of people who get into leadership positions and then they say they never learned how to be a leader,” Rudd said. “Getting the opportunity to learn about it and learn who you are first and then how to talk to other people of different personalities and backgrounds was probably the biggest thing I learned from the retreat.”
Along with the Fellows Program, Lees-McRae also annually presents two individuals, a graduating senior and another member of the college community, with a Sullivan Award. This award recognizes those who show nobility of character and the heart of a servant. In 2025, the two Sullivan Award recipients were May Wildlife Rehabilitation Center volunteer Charlene “Char” Walker and senior online Human Services major Latesha Graham.
The college’s decades-long partnership with the Sullivan Foundation continues to grow and evolve, to the benefit of Lees-McRae students and the wider community. Senior Instructor of Business Administration and Campus Sullivan Coordinator Amy Anderson said, “I am continually inspired by the growth and transformation I witness in our Sullivan Fellows. Watching these students embrace leadership, build authentic community on our campus, and connect with the wider world is truly rewarding. Their drive to become changemakers is evident in the way they apply their skills—collaborating, serving, and leading with purpose. It’s incredible to see their confidence shine as they realize the real difference they can make together.”
The next Sullivan Ignite Retreat will be held March 27–29 in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina and is open to all college students who are interested in personal growth and making a difference. For more information about attending, reach out to Amy Anderson. Applications for rising sophomores to join the next cohort of Sullivan Fellows will open in the next few months.
