THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606200148
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: A Salute to the Class of '96
SOURCE: BY ALEXIS M. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 68 lines
Rebecca Sullivan is wholesome, positive, upbeat and enthusiastic.
Those nice words come from her guidance counselor, Arlene Ingram.
Sullivan is the type of student who might not ordinarily be recognized, but who deserves to be, said Ingram, a guidance counselor at Cape Henry Collegiate School.
Sullivan, 18, a recent graduate of Cape Henry, is the type of person that people want to say good things about.
Included on the list is her best friend, Cape Henry co-valedictorian Ginny McGraw. According to McGraw, ``She is the best friend I've ever had. When my dad died recently she was the first one there for me, and I've come to depend on her.''
Sullivan was a member of the school's Happy Club, which is a branch of Operation Smile and raises money to help foreign children with expensive medical costs and travel to the United States.
She also belonged to the French Club, the Booster Club and played field hockey and women's lacrosse. She was one of 27 seniors in her graduating class.
This will be a busy summer for her. She has two jobs lined up so far - a waitress at Spinnaker's Restaurant and working in the food court at Surf City Squeeze, both in Lynnhaven Mall.
Her plans for the fall are to begin her freshman year at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton and study fashion and business. She sees herself as a fashion buyer in the future and said she looks forward to attending the small woman's college ``with a comfortable atmosphere.
``I like small schools like Cape Henry because I can walk through the halls and not worry about getting beat up. I can just throw my books in the hall and not worry about them being taken. We live by an honor code and it really works,'' Sullivan said.
``The teachers are my confidants and I can talk to them about anything. That's also why I chose a small college.''
Her advice to next year's seniors: ``Don't wait until the last minute to get your college stuff ready. My mother got me started last spring. I was accepted to four colleges: Roanoke College, Virginia Wesleyan, Meredith College and Mary Baldwin.''
Sullivan, who has a Shetland sheepdog named Fluffy, is the daughter of Steve and Beverly Sullivan. Her dad is the district manager for Mac Tools and her mother is a secretary for Thatcher and Benson in Virginia Beach.
``They are volunteers for the Athletic Booster Club and have been seen taking charge of the snack bar,'' Sullivan said, laughing. ``They were even crowned snack bar king and queen with a big hot dog adorning their crowns. It looked pretty funny.''
According to Beverly Sullivan, ``Becky is a very caring person. She has been in several schools in the last few years because we've moved so much. She goes out of her way to make new students feel comfortable because she knows what it's like.
``At her last school in Maryland, she volunteered to start a community service project to help the abused women's shelter in the county. She had to take training to learn how to deal with people that were having problems. At the end of her training we moved again, but the program has continued.
``She is not the best student or the best athlete, but she is a good person inside and enjoys what she is involved in.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
Rebecca Sullivan plans to study fashion and business at Mary Baldwin
College in Staunton. She sees herself as a fashion buyer.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB