Title:A Legacy of Service

Joan Sullivan (N’70) has led an adventure-filled life—from Long Island to Georgetown, Guatemala to Japan, Iraq to Afghanistan, and many stops in between. Reflecting on her journey, she credits Georgetown as “the place that introduced me to new ideas and experiences, and gave me the foundation to be successful in whatever I decided I wanted to do. Georgetown’s belief in us as graduates was incredibly helpful and gave us confidence.”

Sullivan came to Georgetown in 1966 with the goal of becoming a nurse. Inspired by three of her aunts who were nurses, she saw the profession as a meaningful way to earn a living while also being able to help others. One of the things she loved most about her experience was that she was a Georgetown student first and then a nursing student. She had the opportunity to live and learn alongside students from all over the world. Georgetown opened doors she never imagined.

“The Jesuits have such great reputations for being educators and scholars, but they were also very human and didn’t use religion as a barrier,” says Sullivan. She fondly recalls having wonderful talks with Fr. Baumiller, Fr. McFadden, and Fr. McSorley that deeply impacted her experience as a student.

Sullivan also made sure to take advantage of living in Washington, DC—recalling experiencing the tumultuous events of that time, including those related to the Vietnam War protests, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. At graduation, she and her friends wore black armbands to protest what happened at Kent State.

Sullivan credits Georgetown with teaching her lessons that would serve her well in the Army and throughout her life: how to make decisions, work as part of a team, and perform risk analysis.
“Georgetown offered a safe place to land when I tried new things,” she recalls. She also very much came to value Georgetown’s reputation in the larger world. “People sit up straighter and are more respectful and responsive knowing you graduated from Georgetown.”

After leaving the Hilltop, Sullivan earned a Master’s in Nursing and went on to work as a neonatal intensive care nurse in Memphis while teaching in the nursing program at University of Tennessee. It was there that she joined the U.S. Army Reserves, later transitioning to the National Guard. During her years in the Army, she served on active duty for two combat tours—in Iraq and Afghanistan—and had the privilege of serving in missions in Guatemala, Iceland, and Japan as part of her service. Among her most impactful stateside assignments were providing medical support following the crash of TWA Flight 800 and serving as the Task Force Surgeon, caring for soldiers and first responders at the World Trade Center site in New York City after 9/11. “Every time I came back to America, I felt so incredibly humbled by everything I had been afforded in my life.”

Joining the Army also gave Sullivan the opportunity to attend medical school. She went on to serve as the division surgeon for the 42nd Infantry Division and later as the New York State surgeon before retiring from the military after 37 years with the rank of colonel. Sullivan then worked at a successful OB/GYN practice in Ithaca, New York, where she lived for 20 years until her retirement to Florida a few years ago.

Through the years and across many time zones, Sullivan has remained deeply connected to the Georgetown community. Several of her closest friends are fellow alumni, and she participated in the Alumni Admissions Program for many years.

When asked why she made the decision to include a gift to Georgetown as part of her estate planning, Sullivan is quick to acknowledge how much the university shaped her life. “I made this gift because I wanted to give back to an institution that gave me so much.”

She was also inspired by the Military and Veterans Resource Center (MAVRC), and “considered it a no-brainer to direct my gift to a program that is making an education at Georgetown possible and easier for active military and veterans. The military can only be better with the more education that soldiers bring into their experience.”

“Georgetown was an amazing time for me. It opened doors that would not have readily been available—the opportunities, the education, the philosophy, interacting with different kinds of people, and exposure to things I never would have dreamt of learning about made a huge impact on my life.”

Echoing the Jesuit values of service to others and promotion of justice, Sullivan’s life of service was influenced by her experience as a student at Georgetown, and one of the most impactful lessons she learned still has great resonance for current students. “Another thing that Georgetown taught me was that if there’s something you don’t agree with or don’t like, then you have a responsibility to come up with something better.”