Steven Faulk makes University Recreation better
A great attitude and a desire to help people come naturally to Steven Faulk, fitness floor coordinator at the HTC Center.
“He always goes above and beyond in all that he does,” said Tara Josey, associate director of University Recreation at Coastal Carolina University. Some of the words that Josey uses to describe him are friendly, giving, humble, always positive and a man of integrity.
On the cold morning of April 8, 2018, CCU’s annual triathlon was taking place at Williams-Brice Recreation Center. Faulk approached Josey with a student who had registered and paid for the race with his team of friends. Unfortunately, the student did not realize that CCU did not provide the bikes for the cycling portion of the event. In a quick, last-ditch effort, Josey asked Faulk if he would be willing to get the student a bike from the Coastal Cycles program so the student could complete the triathlon.
Faulk sprang into action without hesitation, began running (he is visually impaired and cannot drive) and returned quickly with a bike. The student and his team completed their first triathlon, thanks to Faulk. Josey nominated Faulk as a Chauncey’s Champion after that selfless act.
If you ask Faulk, he sees his action simply as a part of his job. “You just do what you have to do sometimes. My first thought was this kid needs a bike, and it was go-time at that point. Sometimes there are things you can’t sit and think about, ‘Why do I have to do this,’ you just do it.” He looked back on the event later as that “10-minute episode” and laughed about it.
“He will do anything for anyone – our staff, our students, the general public – and he always does it with a smile,” said Josey. “This is just one example of Steve and how he jumps in to help anyone, anytime.”
Faulk, a native of the Grand Strand area, has been the fitness floor coordinator for University Recreation at CCU since September 2016. He attended Socastee High School, and he has always been interested in the field of recreation. He began his career as a personal trainer, and worked in health clubs doing sales in the area for about 20 years.
Faulk eventually decided to go back to school and earned an associate degree at Horry Georgetown Technical College. In 2013, he enrolled at CCU as a junior to earn a bachelor’s degree in public health with a minor in exercise science. During his two years as a student, he worked part time in University Recreation.
During his time with the department is when his love for CCU began to really grow. Faulk describes himself as outgoing, and his inclination to form relationships with every coworker, student worker and recreation center guest testifies to his outgoing nature.
Faulk very much enjoys the comradery with his coworkers at University Recreation. On a busy day, the HTC Center serves around 2,000 people, and he views every interaction as a relationship. The passion for building relationships within University Recreation is something Faulk and Josey share.
“He’s somebody who is very intentional about making relationships,” said Josey. “He invests time and energy into building relationships with [the student workers] and helps teach them what it means to be responsible and accountable. It’s good to have someone like that on our team.”
Faulk became a supervisor in University Recreation as a student worker, and that is when his love for mentoring began.
“We quickly recognized we wanted to put him in a supervisor role,” said Josey. “A lot of our staff would go to him for advice, and it was interesting because even though he was a student alongside them, they sought him out as a mentor.”
Faulk is currently in charge of supervising about 30 student workers and assists with 30 more. He sees himself as a mentor to all 60 students, training them for the job at University Recreation, teaching them life skills and fostering relationships with them. “That’s probably the thing I enjoy most about my job,” he said.
In his free time, Faulk enjoys being active outdoors, participating in activities such as kayaking and watching sporting events. But he is always spending time in the fitness center at HTC, either working out or enriching the lives of CCU students. “We’re all about servicing students. As we grow, we want to find more ways to service students.”
Chauncey’s Service Excellence Champions are University employees (faculty or staff) who perform service-oriented actions that go above and beyond their job duties and that meet at least one dimension of service quality. These employees are recognized for outstanding performance and embody the Feel the Teal initiative. To nominate someone for Chauncey’s Champion, visit coastal.edu/feeltheteal, fill out the form and submit it. Approved nominees will receive an exclusive Chauncey’s Champion pullover as well as consideration for additional recognition. View all the Chauncey’s Champions at coastal.edu/feeltheteal/champions/champs.php.
