In 1934, the New York Southern Society began awarding the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for excellence of character and service to humanity at Peabody College, in honor of New York lawyer Algernon Sydney Sullivan.
Now, the award honors graduating seniors at 61 institutions in America, at schools that include University of North Carolina, Duke University, and our own Troy University.
The award recognizes the recipient for excellence of character, humanitarian service and spiritual qualities.
Now in the Sullivan Award’s 79th year, Troy University is honored to have three recipients of the prestigious award.
Wes Tindell, a senior biomedical science major from Panama City, FL, Kash Forrester, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in Education, from Dothan, AL, and Theresa Johnson, a Troy University English instructor from Luverne, AL.
When asked about what the award means to him, Tindell said, “To me, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is the recognition of one’s journey rather than their destination.”
“The award embodies ideals such as service, integrity, and nobility of character which are all, in their purest forms, truly unattainable by sinful man.”
Tindell, a member of FarmHouse Fraternity attributes his success to his fellow Fraternity brothers.
“Many of the men within FarmHouse have helped shape me into the person I am today. With their encouragement, I have grown within every facet of my life–most importantly spiritually,” Tindell said.
Forrester also served with the Student Government Association and was a former vice-president of Phi Mu Sorority.
“Both organizations helped me learn a lot about myself and how to be a leader. I’m so thankful for both organizations.”
Forrester volunteered at the Troy Public Library as a tutor. She said that tutoring at the Troy Public Library was very rewarding.
She got to make relationships with 6th and 7th graders and see their math grades go up. The library gave me the opportunity to see what was going on around the community instead of just being on campus.”
Johnson said she was humbled to receive such an award.
“To be recognized as possessing the character traits of one with fine spiritual qualities, practically applied to daily living is indeed a humbling experience,” Johnson said.
“To realize that my students and colleagues, the ones who see me every day, nominated me has created a desire to be even more than before that of a servant leader with the highest spiritual and humanitarian qualities,”
Johnson, the director of developmental English at Troy University serves as an English instructor to Koreans who attend school at Troy University.
Johnson said that it serves as one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
As an instructor of English, Johnson strives daily to empower all my students with an understanding of and an appreciation for the English language and culture found in literature so that they will have the conceptual framework, as well as a command of English, the most powerful language in world.
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