“Okay, so my childhood dream was to be a crossing guard.”
This is how Bridget Sullivan begins our interview. As Executive Director of the Railway Family Center at just 33 years old, Bridget isn’t too far away from the days of dreaming those auspicious crossing guard dreams. Her dark eyes are bright and excited, and she radiates energy as she talks.
“After that, I wanted to be a doctor,” she shares. “I even looked at colleges based on their medical programs, but I always kind of knew it wasn’t going to work out. See, I’m not good with blood. Or needles. Or really anything gross.”
Thankfully for the Greater Midland Community Centers, Inc., Bridget instead went into Exercise Science at the University of Michigan. Upon completing her degree, she worked as a Wellness Director at U of M in one of their plants, then moved back home to Saginaw to be closer to family. It was then that she interviewed with the Midland Community Center, one of GMCC’s locations.
“I almost didn’t get an interview,” she says, laughing. “Chris (Tointon, CEO) interviewed me as a favor to a friend.”
Tointon is up front about this as well.
“We almost missed her,” he says. “But I knew after our first conversation that not only was she our new Wellness Director; she had potential for so much more.”
Bridget has fulfilled this prophecy, growing from Wellness Director to Director of Membership and Wellness to her current role as Executive Director at Railway. Along the way, she accumulated a substantial record of success, including taking the Dow RunWalk event from 600 participants to well over 2000, and growing membership at MCC by nearly 200% each year.
“I love working here (at GMCC),” she says, and her face lights up as she talks. “I love the fact that we impact so many different people in so many different ways. And I love that we’re big enough to have resources and growth opportunities, but small enough that I have support and freedom to do my job.”
And if it isn’t apparent already, let’s note that she certainly does her job well.
With all this success under her belt, what does the future hold next? Will it include a career move that finally allows her to wear a neon vest and hold a stop sign?
“Actually my secret ambition now is to be a rock star,” she gushes. “Or a Broadway star. I’m totally tone deaf, but I know I could look really cool if I pulled a Milli Vanilli.”
Whether she makes it on the airwaves or not, one thing is certain – Bridget Sullivan is already a star for the Greater Midland Community Centers, and she’s still rising.
