First Sullivan Scholarship winner prepares for semester in England
Andy Allen ('11) is preparing to relish everything the old world has to offer. As the first recipient of the Timothy J. Sullivan Scholarship, he will spend fall semester of his junior year at the University of Nottingham in England.
The scholarship enabling him to go is made possible through the generosity of Christopher Fildes, a financial journalist in London and long-time benefactor of the College, and former William & Mary President Timothy Sullivan, for whom it is named.
Fildes established the scholarship in collaboration with the Draper's Company, a more than 600-year-old English guild that today administers charitable trusts on behalf of schools and non-profit institutions, in honor of Sullivan, who served as the College's 25th president from 1992-2005.
Sullivan, who was installed as a member of the Draper's Livery in 2003 -- and is one of few Americans to receive this honor -- also contributed to the scholarship. It enables a William & Mary student to study up to a year at selected universities in the United Kingdom. The former president was a strong advocate for international education during his 13-year tenure.
"The fact that William & Mary is a global institution defines our existence in almost every way," said Sullivan said. "If William & Mary students, in the course of their time here, don't get comfortable with that fact, the College will not be doing for them what it should, which is help them to succeed in the world environment."
Allen, an economics major at William & Mary, will continue his studies at the University of Nottingham (famed for its economics program) and is very excited about his first opportunity to experience life in Europe.
"I think it will be really beneficial to study somewhere that's different," he remarked. "It always gives you a broader perspective, a new way of looking at things." Allen hopes to travel broadly during on his school breaks, and notes that experiencing the richness of European culture is near the top of his personal goals. "I hope that learning in the classroom is just a part of what I pick up over there."
Long-term, Allen aims to pursue an M.A. in Education from William & Mary, in order to become a high school social studies teacher and inspire other students to reach their personal and academic goals.
