Post by Roderick Faulkner on Dec 13, 2015 16:08:35 GMT -8
RODERICKANTHONYFAULKNER
<<Played by Alishahr>>
Full Name>>Roderick Anthony Faulkner
Nicknames>>Rod, Rick
Age>> 5 May 1988; 27
Staff or Student>> Geometry teacher, Swim coach
Gender>> Male
Sexuality>> Heterosexual
Face Claim>> Ross Davenport
Personality>> Normally, Rod tends to be reserved and slow to open up to people. He's fairly laid-back and enjoys lying on the couch with a good book. He loves his job and working with people, but sometimes a quiet evening with a glass of red wine and an exciting novel is perfect for unwinding. He enjoys competing and really gets into the spirit of things whether trying his hardest to win or cheering the loudest for his teammates. As a teacher, he wants only what's best for his students and will go to great lengths to ensure they understand the material. He doesn't mind sitting down explaining a concept a hundred times if it means the student will remember and understand what's going on. He believes homework gives the student more opportunities to practice what was learned in class and maybe serve as a reminder that the material wasn't as obvious as it seemed in lecture.
He's incredibly passionate about swimming to the point of going on for ages about the subject. He's more talkative around his friends and family in general. He loves Gail and wishes he could give her the world and is perfectly happy knowing that horses are her first love in life. Rod appreciates her support and her willingness to set aside her dreams for him, though he can't think of anything that could possibly be enough to repay her.
Rod sees no problem with pushing his students hard and making them struggle some when he knows they can overcome the challenge. He can be a tough coach insisting that his students can go one second faster, swim a lap in one less stroke, and have even better form. He wants to create a sense of accomplishment even outside swim meets and encourage his students to work hard and be dedicated to what they're doing. He doesn't see a problem with praising students for their hard work if it means they'll try even harder in the future.
Likes>>
Gail, his wife
Teaching
Students
His family
Swimming
Dislikes>>
Late homework
Physical Therapy
Tardiness
Distracted driving
Hospital food
Fears>>
Not being the sort of teacher he would want to have
Lakes and motorboats
Hopes>>
Be able to buy Sable Star back for Gail
Raise awareness of the dangers of motorboats and the importance of being an attentive operator
Secrets>> He will never be able to swim again.
Appearance>> Rod is tall standing at 6'2". He has short blond hair and blue eyes. He used to be fit and muscular from years of training. Ever since the accident, he lost a lot of muscle mass and has been trying to gain it back ever since. He looks older than he is and does smile as much as he used to. He has a noticeable limp and walks with a cane that has a small swimmer charm tied to the handle. Rod tends to wear long clothes even in the summer to hide his scars. For work, he likes wearing a suit without a tie. For coaching, he switches to a comfortable polo and athletic pants.
Markings>> Severe scarring on his legs, arms, trunk, head
Medical History>> Hit by a motorboat and spent nearly 3 month in hospital, contracted pneumonia, has nerve damage from lacerations, walks with a cane due to nerve damage in his right leg (nearly amputated by propeller), diagnosed with depression
Criminal History>> None
Full History>> Roderick was born in Rochester, MN. His mother was a dermatologist working at one of Mayo's offices. He had one sister who was three years his senior. From a young age, he loved swimming and being in the water. When he was five, Rod joined the local swim team, the Orcas and received more dedicated instruction from a swim coach. He was quick to make friends, many of whom were also his classmates. His parents were immensely supportive and attended most of his meets. As Rod's skill as a swimmer improved, he was able to move up and swim against harder opponents and was regularly winning or losing by parts of seconds in middle school. In high school he continued swimming for the Orcas, but also joined the school swim team. He proved to be one of the best swimmers on the team and dedicated his days to swimming and his education. The calculus teacher was the swim coach and inspired Rod to consider teaching as a viable career path. He was extremely passionate about his students and the material and made himself readily available and approachable for those who needed help.
He received several scholarships to attend the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and compete on their swim team. His parents could easily cover the rest of tuition and housing without taking on any loans. In his third year of studying for his Bachelor in Education with a specialty in high school mathematics, Rod was asked to come and watch his niece compete at the Washington International Horse Show for the first time. The dates of his fall break and the show lined up, so he agreed to go and support his niece. He had no experience working with horses and was baffled as to how to even hold a horse properly. He found his niece's mount to be constantly trying to walk off. He was relieved when another rider came along and took pity on him. She was rather pretty and as an educator, he was in awe of her patience and hands-on approach to teaching. Rod asked if they could get coffee the next morning, and to his amazement, she agreed. He made sure to cheer for her when she competed, and asked her out to dinner that Saturday before going to watch the Longines World Cup Jumping Washington, for the President's Cup. Seeing Gail happy and enthusiastic about her sport gave Rod an incredible sense of happiness.
They dated for the next year visiting one another whenever there was a break at university or whenever Gail wasn't busy competing. Mostly, Rod spent his breaks at horse shows cheering on his girlfriend. At the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, he proposed to Gail after she won the Keystone Classic Speed Stake. The next night, she went on to win the Grand Prix de Penn National. Rod made plans to move to New York to be closer to Gail and applied successfully to Syracuse University for his Masters degree. He worked towards a Master of Science in Mathematics Education. He swam one year on the Syracuse swim team before the program was cancelled. Even though he couldn't compete, Rod still went out to the pool every morning to swim laps often accompanied by Gail whenever she was around. At the end of show finals, the two were married at the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in Syracuse. He was twenty-three.
To celebrate graduating, Rod and several of his friends went up to a summer house on Lake Ontario for the weekend. Gail took the time off from showing to be with her husband in the celebrations. He went swimming and started to stray beyond the designated swim zone. Rod could see the motorboat, but assumed he was in no danger given that they were even further out on the water. He was swimming back and forth and only noticed the boat moving towards him when he stopped to tread water and wave to Gail. At first he thought the driver would see him and turn away, but the operator wasn't watching the water in front of him. Rod tried to swim away, but the boat was moving too fast and hit him. He was pulled through the propeller and suffered severe injuries. Almost immediately, EMPs were called, but it took them several minutes to arrive. Rod was airlifted to the hospital where he underwent immediate surgery. He underwent several more surgeries over the following days and weeks. He wasn't released from hospital for over two months.
Even with insurance, the money from Gail's horse, and a lawsuit, it wasn't nearly enough to cover over one million dollars in medical bills and what would become eleven months of lost wages. Rod moved in with Gail's parents and continued outpatient therapy and counselling. He fell into depression and lamented the fact that his wife was willing to put aside her passion for him. He hated seeing his wife come home exhausted each day only to leave moments later for yet another work shift. As soon as he was able to walk and take care of himself, Rod applied to be a substitute math teacher at the local high school. It didn't pay well, and the work was sporadic, but it was the least he could do. Taking on a full time teaching position while he was still recovering was too much. Nerve damage in his right leg meant that he would always need a cane.
Rod also received an invitation to teach at Blue Ridge Riding Academy. Though he was initially hesitant to take on a full time position, he felt it was only right that he pull his own weight in helping get out of debt. He was thankful to have the opportunity to be a real teacher and that Gail would be around horses again.
