Students honored with Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award

(April 9, 2021) – JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.– Carson-Newman University announced that Jessica Borchert and Miguel Flores are recipients of the 2021 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. The recognition is the highest honor the University presents to students.

“We are proud of Jessica and Miguel for what they have accomplished. They have truly demonstrated what it means to be servant-leaders,” said University President Charles A. Fowler. “They leave Carson-Newman with our prayers and blessings on what we are certain are bright futures.”

A resident of Jefferson City, Borchert has pursued a major in art. She began her time at Carson-Newman at the age of 16 when she was a junior in high school taking duel enrollment classes. Borchert was the very first high school student to become a Carson-Newman Faith and Justice Scholar. Once she graduated high school and matriculated to C-N, she graduated from Junior Scholar to Scholar and will graduate holding the record for the longest-serving Faith and Justice Scholar.

Through her time as a Faith and Justice Scholar, Borchert served multiple community partners, ranging from Appalachian Outreach to East TN Children’s Hospital to Mossy Creek Counseling and more. She has also been recognized for her artistic accomplishments, including being showcased in over a dozen solo and group exhibitions as well as taking home multiple prizes for her filmmaking, including first prize in the Student Competition of the 2017 Knoxville Film Festival.

Dave McNeely, coordinator of the Faith and Justice Scholars program, said of Jessica, “During her tenure at Carson-Newman, Jessica has set herself apart in academics and service and has embodied the C-N values of Truth, Beauty and Goodness.”

Flores, a business major, hails from Gatlinburg.

As a Bonner Scholar, Flores has logged more than 1,650 service hours since coming to Carson-Newman, more than any other senior in his class. He has volunteered at the Jefferson City Public Library, Habitat for Humanity and the Center for Community Engagement.

Center for Community Engagement Director Matt Bryant Cheney said of Flores, “He is extremely intelligent and has used his knowledge of business and practical skill set to directly benefit our sites and projects many times over. He is a critical thinker with a strong moral compass who makes every team better that he’s a part of.”

The New York Southern Society established the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in 1890 to honor an Indiana native and Manhattan attorney who was considered a living example of genteel spirit and Christian compassion. The awards, which are donated by the foundation that bears his name, are granted at 68 colleges and universities to graduating seniors, one female and one male, who “excel in high ideals of living, in fine spiritual qualities, and in generous and unselfish service to others.”

Founded in 1851, Carson-Newman is a Christian liberal arts-based university affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention. The University is located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, among the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and celebrated a record 2,900 students in the fall. Carson-Newman offers 50 undergraduate majors, as well as associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.