Frank Sullivan
Life Since LaSalle
My life since LaSalle has been full of twists and turns and has been not of a traditional trajectory. I developed an addiction to alcohol and drugs while at Providence College and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. Although I harbored dreams of being a priest, my actions did not match my aspirations.
My addictive behaviors followed me into a brief three year stint as a French and Latin teacher at Central Junior High in my home town of East Providence.
The US Government intervened in my career path in 1968 when I was drafted into the Army where I did my basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey and my advanced infantry training at the the garden spot of Louisiana, Fort Polk.
I was sent to South Korea next where I ended up with the Second Infantry Division on the DMZ writing articles for the Stars and Stripes. In the latter part of my tour in Korea, I was assigned to Eighth Army Headquarters in Seoul where I worked as writer and helped to draft the daily news briefing for the Commanding General of US Troops in South Korea.
When I was discharged in 1970, I came back to RI and used the GI Bill to obtain my Masters in Public Administration from the University of RI in Kingston in 1972.
During this period I developed a passion not only for more booze and drugs but for the contact sport of politics. I ran my first successful campaign for a candidate for the School Board in East Providence and was hooked. To complete my MPA requirements, I also served as a budget analyst intern for City of Warwick working under then Mayor Phil Noel.
In December of 1972 I loaded all my belongings into my new Datsun 510 and headed to Washington DC with high hopes of a successful political career, perhaps as a Member of Congress or as President of the United States.
This was not to be as my drinking and drug use accelerated and I worked my way down and not up the career ladder.
By 1984 I was in a terrible state, unemployable and wondering what had become of my great expectations. Through the Grace of God, I stopped boozing and drugging and began to crawl my way back into the mainstream of society . My ever supportive wife Nancy, whom I had married in 1979, helped me into recovery and in 1986 we moved back to RI.
Since stopping drinking and drugging, my life has turned around and I forged a successful career in the real estate business, first as a mortgage originator until the financial crash of 2008 and most recently as a real estate agent .
The influence of the Christian Brothers was and is one of the most important components of my life story. In 1993 at the urging of my former LaSalle Home Room Teacher Brother Eugene Vorburger, I became involved in the opening and operation of the San Miguel School in Providence along with another great Christian Brother Lawrence Goyette. Today the School is one of the most successful ministries of the Brothers and I consider my volunteer work there as one of the high points of my life's journey.
As far as LaSalle, I have tried to remain active in various capacities, having served on the Board in the late 80's under Brother Jerome Corrigan and now as an active participant in my class reunions and in pushing for a class endowment which will hopefully be used to financially assist youngsters to obtain the fruits of a lasallian education.
Frank Sullivan <fstfrank1@aol.com>
North Kingstown, Rhode Island USA - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 05:07:52 (EDT)