In 10 years where do you see yourself? Is it rich and famous? Becoming the parent you always wanted? Paying off all your student debt?
For Del Mar College student and drama major, Ethan Sullivan it’s just the matter of being happy.
“For me that doesn’t mean being the number one movie star that you see in every movie, I don’t want to be in every movie,” Sullivan said.
“I don’t want to be a broadway star that you see in every musical either, I can barely sing.”
“The way that I live my life is I do what is honest to myself, what I believe is right and what is going to make me happy.”
“So in 10 years, I see myself as being happy.”
Not only does Sullivan take pride in staying happy, but also in helping others as he puts it.
“I like to help people in whatever capacity I can,” he said as he explained his contributions through both leadership roles he’s taken on through two major clubs on the DMC campus.
“I am the current President of Safe Space Club, I am the Treasurer for Phi Theta Kappa Gamma Sigma, and I just recently got accepted NSLS, (National Society of Leadership and Success),” said Sullivan, as he mentioned his current involvement with the drama department and their upcoming production as well.
Out of all Sullivan’s commitments he reflects on Safe Space Club and Phi Theta Kappa being the most significant as they allow him to help people the most.
“There is a lot I could do with both of them with Safe Space being able to speak out for LGBTQ students while with Phi Theta Kappa also helping students through volunteering.”
According to Sullivan, having clubs like Safe Space Club are vital for all colleges because they provide smaller communities that allow students to find themselves or even just relate to others.
“It’s all about being able to support each other to have that community, have somewhere you can always go, whatever you may need.”
For Safe Space Club, it’s about finding and relating to an identity as Sullivan puts it.
“There have been several students who have come up to me and been like ‘Hey, I didn’t know this existed.”
“I didn’t have something like this at my high school, I didn’t have any friends that were LGBTQ that I could relate to or share my stories with or understood my experience.’”
That moment, Sullivan attributes to a feeling of satisfaction, as he likes the feelings of making an impact on someone’s life.
Although Sullivan does pride himself through the joy of helping others, he reveals that Phi Theta Kappa also bears the participant in mind when it comes to certain things, such as scholarships.
“To be in Phi Theta Kappa, you have to maintain a certain GPA, so it’s definitely encouraged me to keep up my grades,” Sullivan said, as he revealed the school he plans to transfer to after graduation at the end of this semester.
“I’ve been accepted to Rockford University in Rockford Illinois, and am going on a full ride tuition scholarship,” Sullivan said.
“Rockford originally offered me $16,000 out the gate just for being a Phi Theta Kappa member,”
Sullivan later stated, as he mentioned the fact that many schools across the nation offer scholarships exclusively for Phi Theta Kappa members.
“It definitely helped me discover more scholarship avenues, Phi Theta Kappa itself does also offer their own personal scholarships you can apply for as well.”