She is associated with millions worth of equipment and inventory in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Automotive, but a true value for Cay Gerlock is helping students and the community wherever she is needed.
Here’s where Gerlock directs some of her leadership and hard work: helping new automotive students feel at home; coordinating parts deliveries and donations to the automotive program; founding “Recycle Your Bicycle,” a program that restores old bicycles for students’ use; and even using her vacation days to assist May 2025 Marion tornado victims.
For this dedication to helping people on campus and in the region, Gerlock is receiving
SIU’s 2026 university-level Staff (Civil Service) Excellence Award, one of eight awards honoring faculty and staff for superior scholarship and creative endeavors, teaching and service. The award is for a staff member whose performance goes above normal job requirements in furthering the university’s mission that contributes to student success.
“Receiving this award is very unexpected,” she said. “It’s hard to grasp winning something just because I care about people and want to help.”
Gerlock, who will celebrate 30 years with SIU in July, has “been the backbone of the program for almost three decades, and much of the program’s success is due to her incredible commitment and willingness to help in any way possible,” wrote Sean Boyle, an associate professor in the automotive technology program. “I cannot stress enough how lucky the automotive team is to have someone who’s willing to devote personal time, at almost any hour, to help advance the development of automotive faculty and students.”
Works beyond the job description
The automotive program has grown during the past 30 years from about 125 students and seven full-time faculty to as many as 17 full-time faculty and more than 300 students, Boyle wrote. Gerlock is always available by phone or in person, “at all hours, every day of the week,” to help advance the development and success of automotive faculty and students. That includes travelling all over the Midwest to pick up engines, transmissions, and vehicle donations, and working with faculty to implement a system to keep the batteries of more than 100 vehicles charged while in storage, reducing replacement costs. She orders, receives and disperses parts for both lab work and live work for customers’ cars.
Gerlock said a key to her success is her knowledge of the vehicles and their components “combined with years of parts industry experience.”
“It takes a willingness to be both efficient and accurate, in order to obtain parts for the ever-changing demands of 15 instructors, 300-plus students, and approximately 100 industry-donated vehicles,” she said.
Commitment to students
Boyle notes a typical class has automotive students in the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center for at least 16 hours a week, making Gerlock someone to whom they naturally gravitate.
Keeley Whitmer, who has completed her automotive technology coursework and is finishing a degree in electrical engineering, wrote that “as an out-of-state freshman, I was overwhelmed by the transition.” But Gerlock was supportive, and upon learning Whitmer was a runner in high school, connected her with campus events and students who shared that interest, giving Whitmer “a familiar anchor during a challenging adjustment period.”
Within the automotive program, Gerlock is “a daily source of support” and checks on students’ welfare, listens, and offers support.
“Numerous students — especially the women in the automotive technology program — look to her as a role model,” Whitmer said. “Her professionalism, integrity and genuine kindness set a standard that inspires everyone around her.”
Boyle wrote that in another instance, Gerlock assisted a student when she became a young mother and helped her find needed resources. Gerlock continues to check in on students after they graduate. Alumni will regularly reach out to her because of their lifelong friendship, he said.
“The theme is consistent. Although she’s not a teacher, she’s often referred to as a mentor,” Boyle noted. “Although she’s not an administrator, she’s often commended for her professionalism. Although she’s not an adviser, students find that they can open up to her for advice. The support she offers the students is second to none.”
“Her connection with the students is one reason why so many give back to the school after graduation, and she truly personifies the phrase, ‘Once a Saluki, Always a Saluki’,” he wrote.
Get to know CAY GERLOCK
Name: Cay Gerlock
Department and job title: SIU School of Automotive, automotive parts store manager
Years at SIU Carbondale: 30 years with the university in July 2026
Give us the elevator pitch for your job:
As the automotive parts manager, I think of my role as support for excellent people within the School of Automotive. My main focus is to help the students and faculty get parts for their vehicles or the program’s vehicles. The beauty of that role is that I don’t know what each day brings, so I get to problem-solve as challenges arise. I’ve also been able to assist with supplies for four different Green Fund grants including Saluki Recycle Your Bicycle, which I have coordinated for six years. My additional tasks are annual automotive inventory and coordinating and transporting industry donations. In general, I try to be a go-to person for the program because I’ve been here for a really long time… Ha-ha.
What is the favorite part of your job:
My favorite part of the job is helping people, joking around with them, or just simply making their day better.
Why did you choose SIU?
I chose SIU because it was a great chance to work in the university setting, while still getting to work in a field that I began working in before I even could drive.
My favorite activity away from work is:
That’s a tough one. I try to get anyone and everyone to love being outside and as active as I like to be in whatever capacity that makes them happy. I encourage people to garden, hunt, hike, bike, swim, run, do triathlons, adventure races, anything… I just live life and share it with others.
If you are a collector, what do you collect and why?
I collect friends. I love to connect with people and often they become lifelong family friends. I might also have a bike … or 10.
