Lucretia Fayson, a 59-year-old Gator Corner cashier, received a text on her phone from a UF graduate living in China.
She was shocked by the message.
“He said, ‘Did you see President Sasse? He shouted you out,’” Fayson said. “I was not expecting that at all.”
Former UF President Ben Sasse had mentioned her during the Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony. “Yes to Lucretia,” he said as the crowd cheered.
For more than 11 years, Fayson has gotten to know and greet the hundreds of students who have walked through Gator Corner, from incoming freshmen to graduating seniors. Many students see her as the informal face of the dining hall and the university.
For Fayson, this shout-out reflects her and her family’s deep ties to Gainesville and the appreciation students have for her.
She said she was born in Gainesville during the 1960s and attended Eastside High School.
“In that neighborhood, everybody kind of stuck together and pulled in and helped each other when times were hard,” she said.
Fayson loved fishing and swimming, having been signed up for swim lessons by her grandmother. As a child, she said she lived with her mom and sometimes her grandma.
Fayson’s grandparents both had ties to UF. Her grandmother, Lelia Johnson, was a “big-time Gator Booster,” and her grandfather worked as a houseman for over 30 years at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
Johnson would teach Fayson how to cook and influenced her philosophy on life.
“My grandmother always said, ‘You treat people like you want to be treated,’” Fayson said. “She would cater some of the events they have going on campus, and I would help her out. That was one of the things that I enjoyed doing… helping or feeding people. I really love it.”
Before Fayson became a cashier at Gator Corner Dining Hall, she worked elsewhere in Gainesville and UF. She worked at the Chick-fil-A in the Racquet Club Dining Center, which is now Cravings Campus Kitchen, and Shands Hospital.
Fayson said she realized how deeply she loved helping customers while working as a cashier at the Wendy’s on Main Street. She said she remembered all of her usual customers’ orders so well she would have orders prepared for the customers before they even showed up at the register.
A customer loved her service so much she invited Fayson to come work for her at a daycare at the First Presbyterian Church, Fayson recalled. After working there for a while, Fayson said she left the job to help care for her daughter’s children.
When Fayson wanted to work again, she reapplied for a position at Gator Corner and got the job. She worked on the floor at first serving food and later became a cashier.
“I was able to connect with students wherever I was at Gator Corner,” she said. “I had customers that said I was their favorite. They liked the way I fixed their food, and they always tell me that I'm very nice.”
Fayson said she thinks she has been working at Gator Corner since around 2013. She works Monday to Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. She loves her job and is not planning on retiring anytime soon.
“I love seeing you all come in there as freshmen,” Fayson said. “I get to see you grow, especially when you have a meal plan for four years or more. I get to actually see you come in as a freshman, grow and just flourish into this young adult.”
Fayson warmly greets whoever walks through the door at Gator Corner. She usually knows people by name.
Some students write her thank you notes. Others send gifts. Some students have cried on Fayson’s shoulder. Fayson has had students tell her she is like their grandmother, mom, aunt or best friend.
John Dennis, a 22-year-old UF 2024 alumnus, said Fayson is like the face of Gator Corner.
He said he’s a chatty person and immediately formed a connection with Fayson. They would chat whenever he arrived at Gator Corner for a meal.
“We had a final goodbye when I was leaving to go to graduation,” Dennis said.
Fayson said many students told her that they were terrified when they came to UF but felt more comfortable after meeting her.
“It's unbelievable,” she said. “I didn't even realize that so many people really appreciated my service because ‘I'm just a little old cashier and that's what I look at myself at.’ But people say, ‘Well, don't classify yourself as a little cashier because you're a lot more. You listen to us.’”
Outside of work, Fayson said she enjoys gardening, fishing and swimming. She has a garden by her home where she has managed to grow flowers and vegetables including okra, tomatoes, rosemary and basil.
Hugo Resendez, an 18-year-old UF mechanical engineering freshman, said he met Fayson for the first time during move-in week this Fall. He had gone to Gator Corner to grab lunch, and she greeted him.
He said Fayson helped him settle into a new environment by talking with him.
“I didn't feel like a stranger,” Resendez said. “I felt like I was a part of the community now through that small interaction.”
Vince Medina, a 23-year-old UF 2023 alumnus, said Fayson was probably the best cafeteria employee he had ever met.
“Everyone who wants to be a good person should emulate who she is,” he said.
Jacob Reichhardt, a 26-year-old UF 2020 alumnus, said he had a lot of morning classes for his first semester at UF, so he ate breakfast at Gator Corner, where he talked with Fayson. He said Fayson would always be there with a smile on her face to welcome him.
“She was like a sweet grandma that you would talk to every day,” Reichhardt said. “There's nothing more wholesome and welcoming than that, especially when you're in a new environment.”
Chrissie Spangler, a 22-year-old UF mechanical engineering Ph.D. student, said she would go eat at Gator Corner as a freshman during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. She liked Fayson for remembering her name.
Spangler said she graduated in Spring 2024 with her bachelor’s in chemistry and was there in the front row at the commencement ceremony when Sasse shouted Fayson out.
“I kind of expected just a standard speech,” she said. “The fact that it was about someone who I've interacted with for a good four years at that point, it was really cool. I thought it was really sweet.”
Contact Timothy Wang at twang@alligator.org. Follow him on X @timothyw_g.
Timothy Wang is a junior journalism student and the Fall 2024 Santa Fe College Reporter. He was the University Administration reporter for Summer 2024. His hobbies include gaming or reading manga.
