A junior in Howard University’s nursing program, Cameren Sullivan deftly balances the demands of her major with being a student-athlete. A member of Howard’s bowling team, having a daily planner and making sure that she writes down everything is essential.
“If I have practice, I’ll write that in; if I have class, I’ll write that in,” said Sullivan, who also does clinical rotations as part of her nursing training. “Also, trying to make time for [myself] and things I want to do outside of school and bowling so I don’t burn myself out and still have fun because I am in college.”
Becoming a competitive bowler was inevitable. “I basically grew up in a bowling alley because both of my parents bowled when I was younger,” Sullivan said. “My aunts and uncles bowled. When I was around four or five, I joined a junior league with my cousins and I’ve been bowling since. I bowled in high school, so I knew I wanted to bowl in college.”
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The opportunity to go to a school with a strong nursing program and a bowling team made Howard University, the renowned historically Black university that recently received Research 1 (R1) status, a great fit. She even has a partial athletic scholarship. This semester, Sullivan has done a clinical rotation in a maternity section and is now doing adult health.
“Every day I go to class or to a clinical, I know nursing is for me,” she said. “Being a student-athlete teaches me teamwork and working with other people. Bowling has helped me tremendously, especially with nursing since there’s so much you have to learn, including how to rely on other people. Bowling has helped me communicate with others and [with] time management.”
Being on a team and taking part in intercollegiate competition has helped Sullivan meet a wide range of people, including other Howard student-athletes across the sports. Representing the school and the bowling team on a national stage gives her a sense of pride and alumni support is very encouraging. She will be back on the team for her senior season.
“Being at an HBCU, seeing like minded Black people is really refreshing, especially since my high school didn’t have many Black people,” Sullivan said. “Coming to a place where there are people who look like me, have similar goals and similar drives and passions that I do, is really amazing.”