Colleen Mulholland
Throughout her Stetson years, Mulholland was involved in many community engagement initiatives to help the less fortunate. She was one of two student organizers for this year’s Hearts for Haiti benefit. She was president and founder of OXFAM on campus and coordinated both Into the Streets and Service Core. She worked with the Farmworkers Association at La Plaza Comunitaria in Pierson and helped establish the Y.E.S.A. – Youth Empowerment Through Sports Activities –  program for children there. A member of the Cross Country Team, she helped start the Kilometer Kids running program at the Boys & Girls Club of Spring Hill.  A resident of Clermont, Mulholland graduated from Stetson on May 8 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies, with a minor in Spanish, and has accepted a job with Teach for America. The Turner Award, which honors Stetson’s first woman dean of students, was established by the family of former Stetson President J. Ollie Edmunds and was presented to Mulholland during Commencement.

Florencia Abelenda
Abelenda founded and led the after-school program Y.E.S.A. (Youth Empowerment Through Sports Activities) that offers sports activities and positive role models for youth in Pierson. The program grew from research Abelenda conducted as a sophomore at Stetson. She presented her research to local, state and national audiences, and won a national grant to help launch Y.E.S.A.  A Bonner Scholar at Stetson, Abelenda received numerous Stetson awards and, earlier this year, earned a national Undergraduate Social Action Award from the Sociologists for Women in Society. Her research also helped an outside agency secure a $50,000 federal grant to establish 4-H programs in Pierson.  Abelenda graduated from Stetson on May 8 with Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, with minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies.  This summer, she will work as an intern with the Institute for Social and Economic Development in Washington, D.C.

Zach Whiting
Whiting combined interests in politics with a commitment to service.  Throughout his Stetson years, he tutored Mexican immigrants in basic English skills. He was a member of the Stetson Bonner Scholar Leadership Team,  and during his sophomore year served as Bonner Scholar Site coordinator at  La Plaza Comunitaria in Pierson. In that role, he coordinated programs and activities collaboratively supported by Stetson and the Farmworkers Association of Florida. During his junior year, Whiting interned at the Federalist Society in Washington, D.C. He spent summer 2009 working as a legislative intern in Washington and, in January 2010, announced his candidacy for the District 6 seat in the Iowa House of Representatives. During his final semester at Stetson, he juggled academics, service and campaign duties. Whiting graduated on May 8 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with a minor in Spanish, and returned to Iowa to campaign for the June 8 election.

Stetson’s top leadership honor for graduation seniors, the Sullivan Award is presented each year to the man and woman whose personal example and influence throughout campus best exemplify the human qualities and values that Stetson University nurtures.  The awards are given jointly by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation of New York and Stetson University, and are awarded during Stetson’s annual Honors Convocation.