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Cody Sullivan, a former Rio Rancho High School track and field star, recently began his freshman year at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. under a scholarship for children born with a cleft lip and palate.
Cody Sullivan, with a cleft lip at only a few months old. Sullivan, a Rio Rancho High School graduate, recently received a college scholarship for children born with the condition. 

Education Journalist
Cody Sullivan, a former Rio Rancho High School track and field star, recently began his freshman year at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. under a scholarship for children born with a cleft lip and palate.
Cody Sullivan, with a cleft lip at only a few months old. Sullivan, a Rio Rancho High School graduate, recently received a college scholarship for children born with the condition. 
DURANGO, Colo. — A Rio Rancho High School graduate and cross-country runner began his freshman year of college this semester under a unique scholarship for students born with a cleft lip and palate.
Cody Sullivan, 18, who enrolled at Fort Lewis College, received the award from Smile Train, which describes itself as the world’s largest cleft-focused organization.
“It means everything,” Sullivan said. “It was the opportunity I needed to come to college, be able to pay for it and enjoy it. (Smile Train) is really helping me pursue my dream.”
Sullivan is studying biology with hopes of becoming a dentist or oral surgeon.
Long before those dreams, however, Sullivan found himself at many doctor’s and dentist’s appointments — which he counts as some of his earliest memories. He was born with a cleft lip and/or palate, a condition in which the lip or the roof of the mouth — or sometimes both — do not form properly before birth. One in 700 babies globally are born with the condition, which medical experts believe occurs due to genetic predisposition as well as environmental issues, according to Smile Train’s website. A new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that “defects in some transfer RNA molecules can lead to the formation” of cleft lip and palate. 
In his scholarship application essay, Sullivan wrote, “I am proud to say that I wear my scar as a badge of honor.”
Sullivan went on to write that he endured five cleft-related facial surgeries, several dental and gum procedures, and braces for 11 years to fix his cleft lip and palate. Sullivan’s final procedure was a rhinoplasty, which he noted hindered his track and field participation his freshman year.
Sullivan said in an interview that he was “blessed” to have his condition fixed, knowing that children throughout the world can’t get the same help fast enough — if at all.
“I stand here now proud of who I am,” Sullivan said. 
Growing up, he heard lots of questions from his peers at school wondering about his condition.
“I would always say, ‘My smile has a story to tell,'” Sullivan said.
But, he noted, there were ebbs and flows to growing up with the condition.
“It was hard to find self-confidence for a while,” Sullivan said. “But through sports, I found a lot more.”
His mom, Krista Sullivan, a local pediatric nurse, admits before her son was born, she went through “a mourning process” about his condition and what it would mean for him and his family.
But after several weeks, Krista was “100% ready” to have a son with a cleft lip and palate.
“When I held Cody, cleft and all, he was perfect,” she said. “I realized that my perception of perfection was off when I found out he had a cleft — and the Lord gave me perfection in Cody with his cleft.”
Years later, Krista Sullivan faced another “process,” this time in the form of college financing. Scholarships immediately came to mind, she said.
“Cody did really well in grades, but I thought, ‘What is unique to Cody that could help, maybe in a scholarship?'” Krista Sullivan said.
She Googled the terms “cleft” and “college scholarship” and found two scholarships for children born with a cleft lip and palate. Sullivan received the one from Smile Train.
In addition to support from that organization, Fort Lewis College offered Sullivan a scholarship, Krista Sullivan said.
Sullivan arrived in Durango Aug. 15 and began classes 10 days later. 
“So far, I’m loving it,” he said. “The deer just roam.”
While the deer are roaming, Sullivan is running — not only as a student-athlete, but toward his future diploma. 
Education Journalist
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