Rocky Mount, N.C.—A Wake Forest resident earned not only her bachelor of arts degree in English but one of North Carolina Wesleyan College’s most prestigious awards during the College’s graduation ceremonies on May 5.

Jennifer Lorraine Evans received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which Wesleyan presents annually to a graduating senior who best exemplifies academic achievement as well as excellence in character, leadership, service to the community, and a commitment to spiritual values.

The award, sponsored by the Sullivan Foundation, honors the life of Algernon Sydney Sullivan—a lawyer, scholar, and orator prominent in New York City social and civic activities from 1857 until 1888. In presenting the award, Wesleyan president Dr. Ian Newbould said, “Ms. Evans has been an exemplary student, achieving academic success while also applying herself to those explorations which afford a student the broad range of experiences inherent in a liberal arts education. She is honest, trustworthy, loyal, hardworking, patient, and committed—to goals, to standards, to co-workers, to friends, to God.”

At Wesleyan, Evans took the lead in a variety of endeavors, from course work and theatrical productions to organizations and projects in the community. She assisted in leadership roles with freshman orientation and served as a role-model and a student ambassador. She also worked on campus as an outstanding student employee of Wesleyan’s Dunn Center for the Performing Arts, providing information to the community.

Newbould praised Evans for embracing and promoting spiritual values through dedicated involvement in Wesleyan’s Refuge Club. She served as president and as historian of the club, which helps Wesleyan students be successful spiritually, socially, and academically, and which promotes student leadership. She also was an active member of Wesleyan Players, a group which takes part in dramatic performances offered to the community.

“Ms. Evans has worked during her tenure on campus to improve it,” said Newbould. “All who know her well realize that she is an outstanding young lady, and a deserving recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award.”

North Carolina Wesleyan College is an independent, four-year liberal arts college for men and women, founded in 1956 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church. The main campus, located in Rocky Mount, offers bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in 22 majors. An Adult Degree Program that offers bachelor’s degrees in several disciplines is available on the Rocky Mount campus, in Goldsboro, and in the Triangle area.