Student-Athletes study core values in latest Gamecock CEO discussion
South Carolina student-athletes investigated and prioritized their own core values in Gamecock CEO’s latest Summer Huddle Series event on Wednesday. Gamecock CEO is South Carolina’s student-athlete development program.
“They’re in a very pivotal point in their lives,” said Carmen Rollizo, Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development. “Being a college student-athlete, there is a lot of stuff happening, and knowing their values is going to help them out in whatever is coming. There will be situations where they are going to have to make a decision as to what they want to be a part of, where they’re going to work, where they’re going to live, and some of that should be based on what you value.
“The more you know about yourself, the better. That can help you find out what your strengths are.”
The student-athletes were given an exercise where they studied a list of more than 50 values along with their definitions. They were tasked to categorize them as something that they adhere to “always,” “sometimes,” or “never” and eventually narrowed that list down to five as their current core values.
“My five were integrity, family, faith, loyalty and personal growth,” said redshirt junior football student-athlete Eric Douglas. “Integrity, family and faith are three core values I live off of. You have to have integrity and be an honest man. You have to love God and you have to love your family. Being loyal to yourself and to others is important to me, and personal growth is about how I want to grow in more than just one area. That’s something you can use as a tool to get a job. This is how your view yourself, and it allows you to ask questions in how you view those values. It can help you stand apart from the competition.”
“Mine are advancement, compassion, faith, family and knowledge,” said senior swimmer Jenna Pehowski. “I was immediately drawn to them.”
“We wanted them to take a good look at themselves and figure out what’s important to them”
“The ones that I chose were family, religion, success, wealth, and knowledge,” said redshirt sophomore Gavin Bennett from the football team. “Those are the things that drive me every day. I always maintain a very close relationship with my family. I call them at least twice per day and make sure I tell them that I love them. As far as religion, I recently gave my life to Christ and have made it a point to dive deeper into my religion. I believe that knowledge is power. That’s the main reason for me going to school. I don’t want to live my life struggling to make money or live check to check. So, if I put in the work now, I can be successful when I’m older. I want to be able to provide for my family.”
Former women’s soccer student-athlete Simone Wark (2015-2018), who is returning to South Carolina athletics in an administrative role, shared her selections from when she performed the same exercise following her senior year.
“Personal growth, inner harmony, health, family, and loyalty,” Wark said. “At this point I wouldn’t change any of these, but I think it is important to remember that your values can be fluid. There are many different phases in your life. When I start having a family, that will probably be close to number one for me. I think it’s great that we did this exercise because I used these values as touchpoints in so many interviews with employers and internship directors. If you start to pay more attention to them, you will see how they play a role in your life, and you can communicate that to employers.
“As you move on in your life, it’s important to stay involved with the community. Always strive to do more than what’s asked of you. Pay attention to other passions you have or discover other things you are interested in. Always strive to do more, especially if one of your core values is in the growth mindset.”
Among other things, Rollizo noted that core values help you find your purpose, react in difficult situations, make strategic decisions, and help you choose the right career and that it’s important for the student-athletes to be aware of their own values and see how they match up with potential employers.
“We wanted them to take a good look at themselves and figure out what’s important to them,” Rollizo said. “We just wanted to provide a space for them to really dig deep and figure out what they are.”
