KINGSTON, R.I. – May 12, 2009 – As a young boy, Sean Sullivan was a regular in Keaney Gymnasium, watching the athletic feats of University of Rhode Island basketball greats like Tyson Wheeler and Cuttino Mobley, who led the Rams to the Elite Eight in 1998.
Sullivan’s oldest brother, Mike, was a work-study student in the URI sports information office at the time. Mike would bring Sean to the games, instilling a sense of pride in his younger brother at an early age.
Fast forward several years, and now Sean Sullivan, a communications major from Lincoln, is graduating after spending four years working in the sports information office at URI. Since his arrival, he has been a stalwart on Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Communications Mike Laprey’s student staff, especially at football and basketball games.
“Mike bringing me to Keaney Gym just made me want to be a part of URI athletics,” Sullivan said. “Knowing when I came here that my oldest brother Mike used to do this job, I wanted to come in and get my feet wet and really get to know the athletics department. I’ve wanted to do this since I was little.”
Both of Sullivan’s brothers, Mike and Garrett, graduated from URI. The combination of the University and athletics has played a major role throughout his life. Sullivan was a three-sport athlete at Lincoln High, and his father coached his middle school and high school basketball teams.
“My whole entire life I have grown into it, and it has never gotten old. It never will get old,” Sullivan said. “I am always going to be passionate about sports, especially basketball, for the rest of my life.”
With a minor in sports marketing, Sullivan’s goal is to work in athletics. His time at URI has only fostered that desire. For the summer, he will work at the TPC Boston, home to the PGA Tour’s Deutsche Bank Championship, as he gets started in his athletics communications career.
“These four years, I have just taken in so much,” Sullivan said. “Meeting people in the marketing department, getting to know the A.D. (Director of Athletics Thorr Bjorn) and the people in the sports information office where I work, you just sink in so much knowledge. You just have it inside of you to go out into the real world and work from what you have learned.”