About Eric Chalmers

Eric graduated from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, AZ, in June 2010. He is a top-ranked tennis player and led his school team to the state championship as a junior. Eric was active in student council, served on the Big Brothers’ executive board, and was bass section leader for Honors Men’s Choir. He planned the Summit on Human Dignity and was a member of the Diplomatic Corps, Pax Christi, Student Activists for Social Justice, and the Calc Club. Eric was selected for an immersion trip to El Salvador and is a member of National Honor Society and an Eagle Scout.

Just Do It
A Message to Prospective Freshmen
By Eric Chalmers

First off I would like to congratulate all anyone who is reading this because that means you are putting in the extra time and effort to read something that may or may not help you win the Sullivan (depends on how well I write this) but will definitely change your life for the better (yeah, I’m that good). Seriously though, I do want to congratulate you on applying for the Sullivan Leadership Award, and if you are a parent reading this make sure to give your son or daughter a big hug for even putting themselves out there to apply for this award. This application and process is enough in itself but to be doing all of this while being a high school senior, which is definitely far more difficult than it is made out to be, is quite a load. So, in the face of all this I’m sure some of you may be asking yourselves, “Why am I doing this?” or others may be wondering “How in the world am I going to do this?” and others still may be saying “Mom, do I have to do this?!” As far as application advice goes, all I can offer is be 100% yourself and do not feel compelled to FIT ANY MOLD WHATSOEVER. Even though I strongly dislike Nike as a corporation, their saying really works here: Just Do It. One of our advisors, Dr. Andrea McDowell, has this saying by Edmund Burke at the end of all of her e-mails that reads, "No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little." Essentially, no matter what chance you think you have of winning (I thought I had absolutely zero), how much work you may have (or how much senioritis), or if you aren’t even interested in Seattle University, just go for it. Always live your life to have no regrets because there is no tomorrow that will ever be the same as today. I wish you all the best of luck and I cannot wait to see you on Leaders’ Day!

Love and Peace,

Eric Chalmers

P.S. Don’t Stress!! It doesn’t help anything!