By Ethan Forsman
Faulkner University recently secured a new staff member who has become versed in several careers when most people are blessed to find just one. This man is Caleb Colquitt, the Residential Director for both Davis Residence Hall and the New Men’s Residence Hall.
Before coming to work at Faulkner, Colquitt began his radio career, which he describes as abnormal from that of most radio personalities.
“Most people do the opposite of what I did, which is they do hard news then wind up going into sports because that’s what they really want to do,” Colquitt said. “I did the opposite, I was in sports originally and went into hard news later on. I kind of did it backwards but I’ve done just about everything in radio that you can do.”
Colquitt has continued his political talk radio show in addition to his duties at Faulkner.
Colquitt is not a stranger to Faulkner University. “I’ve always had an admiration for Faulkner,” he said. Even before becoming a student at Faulkner for three semesters, Colquitt had ties to Faulkner that made him fall in love with its campus environment.
“My dad was an employee here in admissions for a while and I’ve just always loved the people and the community,” he said. “That was the main thing that drew me back.”
In addition to his three semesters at Faulkner, Colquitt also attended Auburn University where he graduated with his Bachelor’s degree. Colquitt said that the only reason he did not finish at Faulkner is because he was looking for a degree that the university did not offer.
While performing his new job at the university, Colquitt had continued doing his political talk radio show every weekday. The talk show, called “Tactics”, aims to “try to arm you with what you need, give you a tactical plan, before you go into a discussion about a controversial topic,” according to Colquitt.
He says that his biggest inspiration for getting into politics has always been Glenn Beck. He described Beck as knowledgeable and appreciated his ability to speak intelligently on a topic by providing hard facts instead of opinions. Colquitt said he would watch Beck on Fox News every day when he would get home from his classes. Colquitt approaches news differently than most people. He says “I’m not trying to teach people what to think, I’m trying to teach people how to think.”
He discussed how important his faith is in his life, something he cites as central to his purpose in his professional efforts.
“Part of being a Christian and having that worldview is part of what drives me to want to do this, and one thing that has always been a really big part of my show is my faith and putting that on display, which I feel is sorely lacking in the political realm. In fact, a lot of people specifically avoid that topic because they feel like it will either make them unpopular or that people just don’t want to hear about it; but I end every show with about an 8-10 minute bible devotion,” he said.
Whether or not you are one of his residents, you should take some time to get to know Caleb Colquitt, whose knowledge expands beyond just politics. Colquitt can hold great conversations about video games both old and new, various movie trivia and many other topics. Still, while he enjoys all of those things, odds are that he’ll find some way to help you learn how to think. After all, that is his purpose.