Expanding our reach to students by 'feeling the teal'

Feel the Teal® has provided many opportunities for employees to become engaged and service-driven representatives of Coastal Carolina University. The training modules have raised the awareness and expectation levels for providing service and assisting with student success. I truly believe these sessions have enhanced our culture, and more faculty and staff are certainly “feeling the teal.”

That being said, it has always been my vision to share the values and opportunities of Feel the Teal with CCU students. The only students currently involved with the program are student workers and student organizations or groups that have requested training within specific events or programs. With the recent hire of Nick DeStefano as service excellence program coordinator, we will be able to expand the reach of the Feel the Teal message. DeStefano will facilitate Feel the Teal training modules for employees, create a recognition program within Feel the Teal and share Feel the Teal with the student population of CCU.

“Having the opportunity to impact our campus culture of service in this new role is very exciting,” says DeStefano. “I look forward to working with our faculty and staff to continually advance their skills and knowledge of service excellence at CCU. The opportunity to expand Feel the Teal to students will be a process of continually meeting with our students to provide training and opportunities for open, two-way communication that has potential benefits for everyone involved. I look forward to hosting regularly scheduled focus groups starting in April and hearing what the students have to say about service and how it impacts and affects their CCU experience.”

Along with Nick, I look forward to sharing the message of Feel the Teal with the students and hearing their ideas in regard to service at Coastal Carolina University. It is important for us to continue to reach out to the students and learn from their perceptions and feedback in order to make changes and improvements for everyone involved. I know we will not be able to solve all the problems, but I do know there is great power in all of us working together toward addressing the priority issuesthat affect service and retention.

This is an exciting time for Feel the Teal!

Sincerely,

David A. DeCenzo, Ph.D.
President