Coworkers are more like family for Rosa Joslin
Rosa Joslin, custodian for University Housing, can summarize her thoughts about the culture at Coastal Carolina University in one word: friendliness.
Joslin takes that friendliness she feels from CCU and passes it forward to make the students living on campus feel at home.
“I try to say hi to everyone I come into contact with and smile at them, just so they know someone cares,” she said. “At least they have a face they can recognize since it is their first year. I think about when my children went away to college, I wanted someone to be nice to them.”
The kindness of strangers is something that Joslin was not used to before joining the CCU family in July 2017. She is from a small town called Portlandville, near Cooperstown, N.Y. “The people aren’t as friendly in New York,” she said. “People here are more apt to say ‘hello,’ ‘good morning’ or ‘thank you,’” said Joslin.
When she helped her best friend move to South Carolina a few years ago, she and her husband fell in love with the area and how people were just plain nice. She urges her friends who live in New York to move down South and experience the pleasant lifestyle.
Joslin’s positive attitude and solid work ethic make her an asset to CCU’s custodial services department. Georgia Sexton, assistant custodial supervisor for University Housing, submitted Joslin as a Chauncey’s Champion after noticing that Joslin regularly bakes cookies, cupcakes and other treats, and brings them in for the student workers and professional staff.
“She truly cares about the students in her building and the staff that she works with on a daily basis,” Sexton said.
CCU’s housekeeping staff consists of approximately 60 employees who perform routine housekeeping of the student housing, academic and administrative buildings on campus. She and her professional staff partner clean the lobbies, laundry room, study lounges, bathrooms and showers in Chanticleer Hall. Chanticleer Hall houses freshmen and honors students, with a total occupancy of around 320 students.
“Rosa always comes to work with a smile on her face and never complains when asked to do any task,” said Sexton. “She had to work by herself in Chanticleer Hall when her coworker was on maternity leave for 12 weeks.”
Sexton also says Joslin often works straight through her breaks to make sure her buildings are up and running for her students.
The hard work and dedication Joslin shows at work doesn’t go unnoticed. “I’ve had a couple of students thank me for making their building clean and looking good,” she said.
Joslin said her coworkers are the main reason why she loves her job and enjoys coming to work every day. “We are family,” she said. “We have fun when we work and it makes the day go smoothly.”
Working alongside her three student workers Grace Carrino, Alexis Mesel and T.J. Bishop, is Joslin’s favorite part of her job. “They help us clean the building and keep it looking nice,” she said. She misses her two children, who don’t live nearby, so Joslin considers her student workers her “children.”
“I most definitely consider Rosa a part of my work family. She never fails to ask about my life and experiences,” said Carrino, a sophomore sociology major from Greensboro, N.C. “If Rosa sees that I didn’t bring a snack for the day, there’s no avoiding her demanding me to take some of hers. I’m very grateful to have been placed with such a selfless, hardworking person.”
Her husband, Claude Joslin, also works at CCU at the Hackler Golf Course as a groundskeeper. She said they commute to work together often. She spends her free time going to movies, walking on the beach and going on hikes with her loved ones.
Since her youngest daughter and grandsons live in Georgia, she enjoys living in South Carolina and being just five hours away from them, rather than 15 hours away in New York.
“CCU just means family to me. I love how everyone is there for each other and wants to put a smile on each other’s faces,” said Joslin. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had because everyone’s so friendly.”
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 gift as well as consideration for additional recognition. View all the Chauncey’s Champions at coastal.edu/feeltheteal/champions/champs.php.
