Hump Day Highlight: Sam Faulkner ’13

A promotional graphic for Campbell University's Hump Day Highlight series featuring Campbell alumnus Sam Faulkner '13. On the left, Faulkner smiles while speaking to an audience, wearing a black NEST Clinic shirt. On the right, an orange background displays the text "Hump Day Highlight," followed by "Sam Faulkner '13" and "B.S. Psychology." The Campbell University Alumni Association logo appears in the lower right corner.

Hump Day Highlight is a series from the Campbell University Alumni Association that shines a spotlight on alumni making an impact in their professions, communities and beyond. Through their own words, Campbell graduates reflect on the experiences that shaped their journeys and the degree programs that helped launch their careers.

Campbell University alumnus Sam Faulkner (’13) arrived in Buies Creek to play football, but a psychology course, faculty mentorship and Campbell’s commitment to service helped him discover the direction of his career.

Today, Faulkner is a licensed psychologist specializing in child and adolescent behavioral health. He serves as Clinical Director of Psychological Services at the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania and is the founder of Dr. Sam’s Solutions, LLC.

What drew you to Campbell and your chosen degree program?

I came to Campbell for football, but I wanted a school with real academic weight, not just a place to play. I found psychology in a course my sophomore year, and fell in love with the study of how the mind works and how we can use that knowledge to help people.

What made Campbell special was the way service to others was woven into the fabric of everything the university stood for. Small class sizes meant real mentorship and learning that felt personal in a way you cannot get at a larger institution. That combination shaped the entire direction of my career.

What is one thing you would want others to know about your degree program or your experience at Campbell?

The mentorship changed my life. Dr. Jutta Street believed in me before I fully believed in myself. She helped me recognize that I had gifts to give, and that my persistence, passion, and commitment to service could genuinely make a difference for others.

Her mentorship in research methods prepared me for a career as a scientist-practitioner, and her guidance led me to a summer internship with the Summer Treatment Program, an evidence-based behavioral treatment camp for youth with ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. That experience set me on the path to becoming a child and adolescent psychologist.

Campbell was not just where I studied. It was where I found my purpose.

Is there a particular experience, professor or lesson from your time at Campbell that has stayed with you?

Two experiences stand out. The Summer Treatment Program showed me what evidence-based care for kids looks like in practice and confirmed I wanted to spend my career in this work.

And the History of Psychology trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland was formative in a different way. Traveling through those countries opened my eyes to worlds both different from and similar to my own, and taught me something I have carried ever since: across every culture, humans are humans.

We hold different histories and contexts, and we also share the same joys and the same suffering. Underneath it all, the lesson that has stayed with me most is the value of giving your time and talents to others.

What advice would you give to current or future Campbell students?

Say yes.

What I discovered at Campbell is that when you give your time and your talents, the rewards come back tenfold. Giving is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Lean into the mentorship, take the trip abroad, join the program, raise your hand. The experiences you say yes to are the ones that shape who you become.

Tell us about what you’re doing now. What do you enjoy most about your work?

I am a licensed psychologist specializing in child and adolescent behavioral health. After earning my Ph.D. in Health Psychology from East Carolina University, I completed my clinical training at Geisinger, where I spent years working in medical settings: emergency departments, a children’s hospital, integrated primary care, and psychiatric crisis services. I went on to direct pediatric behavioral health programs across those systems, including a consultation/liaison service working with the mental and behavioral health issues that show up in inpatient medical and emergency department settings and a bridge clinic serving kids in crisis.

Those experiences shaped everything about what I built next. I now serve as Clinical Director of Psychological Services at the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit in Pennsylvania, where I founded and lead The NEST Clinic, Nurturing Environments for Support and Treatment. NEST is a licensed psychiatric outpatient clinic that brings behavioral health directly into schools and rural communities, providing therapy, psychological evaluation, psychiatric services, crisis response, and telehealth through a central clinic and a network of school-based satellite sites. It is the kind of clinic I wished existed when I was watching kids cycle through emergency departments without a clear next step.

I am also the founder of Dr. Sam’s Solutions, LLC, a consulting and speaking practice at the intersection of behavioral health, crisis response, and ethical AI. Through that work I speak and train nationally on youth mental health, suicide prevention, neurodivergence, and the emotional cost of helping work, and I partner with organizations building AI tools to make sure safety is designed in from the start, especially for people in crisis.

What I enjoy most is building things that actually reach people. I get to design systems that support our most vulnerable youth, and just as importantly, support the adults who care for, teach, and stand beside them so they can sustain themselves and better care for the next generation. Whether it is a clinic, a training, or a safer piece of technology, getting to help alleviate human suffering, and to do it at scale, is the most meaningful work I can imagine.

Share Your Campbell Story

Are you a Campbell alumnus with a story to tell? We’d love to hear how your Campbell experience has shaped your life, career and calling while highlighting the degree program that helped prepare you for success.

If you’re interested in being considered for a future Hump Day Highlight, complete our Hump Day Highlight Alumni Questionnaire.

Please note: Submission of the questionnaire does not guarantee selection. Stories are featured at the discretion of the Campbell University Alumni Association based on editorial needs, available space and representation across colleges, degree programs and graduating classes.