When Abby Sullivan graduates as a top student in the class of 2026 at Connelly School of the Holy Child in Potomac, Maryland, she will have completed 11 Advanced Placement courses, nine honors courses and one dual credit college course.
But she considers her most important accomplishment there to be her community service, volunteering and becoming friends with young people with intellectual and developmental differences.
And Sullivan said along with her faith and academic background at Holy Child, those volunteer experiences will help her as she goes on to study at the University of Notre Dame, majoring in political science and possibly preparing for law school and a career in law.
Serving others taught her the importance of “the compassion you have for people. You never know what someone is going through,” she said.
After attending the Woods Academy, a Catholic elementary school in Bethesda, she has attended Connelly School of the Holy Child, a Catholic girls’ school for grades 6 to 12 sponsored by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. Abby Sullivan, who is now 18, is the second oldest of five children of Jennifer and Brian Sullivan, and her family attends the Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda. Her younger sister Elizabeth will be a rising 10th grader at Holy Child.
For as long as Abby Sullivan can remember, she has participated in activities for Potomac Community Resources, Inc., a group that promotes inclusion of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities into all aspects of community life. PCR provides therapeutic, recreational, social and respite care programs serving teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities throughout Montgomery County, Maryland.
This past fall, Abby Sullivan was honored as PCR’s Outstanding Youth Volunteer at the group’s annual Patricia Sullivan Benefit. In 2022, her older brother Jack Sullivan, who was then a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, and their cousin Molly Tyson, who was then a student at Holy Child, also received that honor.
Their grandparents, James and Joan Sullivan, founded PCR in 1994 with a group of other parents and with Msgr. John Enzler, then the pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac. The advocacy of James and Joan Sullivan was inspired by their daughter Patricia, a young woman with significant developmental differences who couldn’t speak or walk, but whose spirit and love inspired her family and friends and was the spark for PCR’s beginning at Our Lady of Mercy.
Although Abby Sullivan never met her aunt Patricia, she said volunteering with PCR “really makes me feel connected to her.” She is mindful of her family’s legacy with Potomac Community Resources, and she emphasized that even though her parents never pushed her and her siblings to be involved in the group, “PCR has been such an integral part of my life.”
During her years at Holy Child, Abby Sullivan and her cousin Molly Tyson volunteered with PCR’s Communication Counts outreach, working with members on their speaking ability and communications skills. “You could see their progress so clearly and the effect you were having on them… and the difference they were able to make in their life,” she said.
Abby Sullivan in recent years has volunteered with PCR’s basketball program at the Heights School in Potomac, helping members with their skills in initial sessions and assisting them with advanced skills in later sessions. “Most of them are better than me,” she said, laughing as she noted their progress.
Along the way, she made friends with the PCR members. “I loved hearing about their lives and how they’re doing,” she said.
At Holy Child, Sullivan also volunteered with the Best Buddies program, joining fellow students in activities with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. While the Best Buddies program typically promotes one-on-one friendships and activities, the program at Holy Child is known for parties during the school year held in conjunction with PCR, including a Halloween Party, a Holiday Party and a Beach Party.
At this year’s Beach Party at the school, Sullivan said it was fun to see “a bunch of Holy Child girls running around making friends with all the Best Buddies members… It’s such a cool thing to see how much they enjoy their interactions with volunteers and each other.”
Sullivan has been inspired by the PCR and Best Buddies participants she has met and made friends with, and by the strength of their parents and caregivers.
As for lessons she has learned through those volunteer experiences, Sullivan said, “It definitely shows you to be grateful for all that you have. I don’t have to worry about my ability to eat or speak or function. All the little things I take for granted are more daily struggles for the members. It brings you down to earth, because they have all these struggles, but they are probably the happiest people I know, and they find joy in all the little things.”
Her favorite classes at Holy Child have included AP government and AP psychology. She appreciated seeing how those subjects apply to real life – “learning how government works… (and) and how our brain works.”
Competing in lacrosse and field hockey for the Holy Child Tigers, Sullivan also learned the importance of planning and organizing around her academic and extracurricular schedule. “My parents taught me to stay on top of things. I find I do a lot better when I’m busy,” she said.
Sullivan has played lacrosse since the second grade, and at Holy Child she has enjoyed being on the team, where her teammates have included her cousin Molly and her sister Elizabeth. Playing lacrosse has given her the opportunity to learn how to apply different skills to the different positions she has played on defense, midfield and on the attack. “You learn something new in every game,” she said.
She began playing field hockey as a Holy Child freshman and has enjoyed playing that sport with her friends, and competing for the league championship the past two years.
As her June 5 graduation approached, Sullivan said she felt sad to think about leaving Holy Child, but added that her school had prepared her well for college. “Right now, I’m excited for the next chapter.”
Sullivan said participating in the retreat program and serving as a Eucharistic minister at Holy Child have helped her grow in her faith and deepen her relationship with God, and as she moves forward in life, she’ll carry with her the values she learned there, including compassion and kindness.
“I’ve made lifelong friends and connections with teachers that will continue,” said Sullivan, who also emphasized how she grew in confidence during her years at Holy Child. “When I came, I was very quiet and in my shell. Holy Child has brought me out and taught me to use my voice a lot more. In college, I’ll know how to advocate for myself.”
Community service has been central to Sullivan’s life at Holy Child, and she expects that to continue in college. “Notre Dame being a Catholic school, volunteering and service are a big part of their identity, and I know there will be a lot of opportunities with that,” said Sullivan, who plans on looking into the Best Buddies chapter there. She is also interested in participating in a tutoring program that Notre Dame offers to area elementary school students.
“There will be no shortage of volunteer options in South Bend,” she said.
