From a tyke to a‘normal’ valedictorian
By Aly Shea
Record-Journal staff MERIDEN
— When asked to describe himself, the first words out of Platt High School valedictorian John Sullivan’s mouth were not about academics, but about playing pickup basketball with friends.“I’m not all academics; I’m a normal person,” said Sullivan, 18. “Everyone thinks straight A’s means straight nerd, but I’m normal, my friends are normal, and we do normal stuff.”And Sullivan, who will graduate June 17, said the only thing that bothers him right now is being in class, because it means he can’t be out playing basketball and hanging out with his friends.When he’s not in his own class, he can sometimes be found in the classroom of his father Terrence Sullivan, a Platt social studies teacher.In fact, John Sullivan is a student in his father’s modern European history class, but neither said they find it awkward.“He’s been very mature about it,” Terrence Sullivan said of his son. “He takes his work very seriously.”And even the principal, Timothy Gaffney, noticed that John Sullivan has grown a lot in his four years.“He was a little tyke coming in, but he’s leaving a grown man,” Gaffney said. “We’re proud of him; he’s done a good job.”Sullivan’s teacher through four years of Latin and one year of English, Roger Mc Quiggan, called Sullivan a standout student.“He’s an English teacher’s dream,” he said. “He reads everything. … He’s always got something in his hands to read, and he’s excelled in math and science, too. He’s a real renaissance kid.”And it’s his love of knowledge that Sullivan’s girlfriend, Kelly Mc Donough, also a Platt senior, said separates him from his classmates.“John didn’t get good grades because he wanted to be valedictorian, but because he really has a hunger for learning,” she said.Sullivan will be studying physics at Boston College this fall and is considering engineering, but keeping an open mind.He’s most excited about taking classes in a wide variety of subjects, especially one that will have him reading a lot of philosophy, from Socrates to the Bible to Marx.Regardless of what he studies, he says he can’t wait to watch Boston College football. Sullivan has already purchased his season tickets and is excited to see the game against rival Notre Dame this fall.While he enjoys traveling and wants to see the world, his travel plans for freshman year are much more modest: he plans to make the trip from Boston to Bryant University in Providence, R.I., to see Mc Donough when he can.While he credits Mc Donough for helping him mold his fashion sense — she dresses him, he joked — he credits his parents, Susan and Terrence Sullivan, with helping him sustain his love of reading and academic success. His mother said they always encouraged him in school and read to him a lot as a child, until he was old enough to read on his own.“Some people’s parents reward them for good grades; mine just expected them,” John Sullivan said.But academics are the last thing on Sullivan’s mind this week as he prepares to graduate — he’s thinking about having a fun summer and spending time with his friends. He said his best high school memories are being made right now with his group of friends.“We’re all so close,” he said. “I can call them up anytime to just hang out or play basketball or whatever
