Rachel Sullivan always looking to help others

As an athlete, Rachel Sullivan has been busy. She has spent the last three years with the so ball, basketball and volleyball teams for Stevens Point High School. Sullivan has been a varsity starter for both basketball and so ball for each of the past three seasons and was all-conference as a junior in basketball and is climbing the charts of school records at Stevens Point. As a member of the community, Sullivan has been equally as busy. She has hosted numerous basketball and volleyball camps for young kids and she has done a great deal of work for her church. Sullivan has been a group leader for bible camp and Gospel Time, events that get younger kids involved in the church. Sullivan translated her love of animals into spending time as a volunteer at the Portage County Humane Society back when she was younger. “Probably sixth through ninth grade, I would spend a lot of time there,” said Sullivan, “I even had a birthday party there in sixth grade because I just love helping the animals and spending time with them.” Last year, Sullivan went on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. She went with her mother, a nurse of 30 years, and her older brother. While there, she had a number of different responsibilities. “I would escort people to the doctors, help keep everything organized and help out with anything medical,” said Sullivan. “It was just a really awesome experience and I plan on going back next year, kind of keep the tradition of people in my family going.” Sullivan believes that she has found a future career. In addition to the medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, she has job shadowed at Aspirus Hospital and has also shadowed multiple times at Ascension Saint Michaels Hospital in Stevens Point. Balancing athletics, academics and community service can o en be challenging for students. However, Sullivan views her volunteer work as just another part of the schedule. “It can be hard to find time, but I try to prioritize what is important with school, homework, and practices and obviously volunteering,” said Sullivan, “but I feel like [community work] is just part of my life and something I need to do.” Sullivan feels that she has a responsibility to give back to her community. That attitude of selflessness and helping others has been passed down from her parents. “My family has always been active, so I grew up helping out.” Sullivan said, “But it’s also really important to me to give back to my community for everything I’ve gotten out of it.” Along with her volunteer work with the local church and in the medical field, Sullivan has been involved in a number of other community service activities. For the past two years, Sullivan volunteered cleaning up yards as part of Rake-a-Thon for Habitat for Humanity. She also was a bell ringer for Salvation Army in grades 9-11. Rachel Sullivan has garnered a lot of notable accomplishments. She has been a varsity player in three different sports for the last three years, has excelled in the classroom, maintaining a 4.02 GPA and being named a scholar athlete throughout high school. But it is the work from the experiences in the Dominican Republic that made Sullivan want to pursue a nursing degree at Marquette University next year. She plans to still be involved with helping the Milwaukee community while at Marquette. Athletes are o en recognized for the work they do on the field. The 2018 Wisconsin High School Sports Awards recognizes those accomplishments but also highlights positive impacts off the field with the I AM SPORT Award, presented by the Milwaukee Bucks.