By Jordan Cook
It’s a cloudy mid-October afternoon at the Towson University Union. Students are slouched over their laptops—their eyes baggy and their faces strained because midterms are here. But Alphonso Faltz Jr. is not stressed. He strides into the union with a smile, sporting his electric blue “Blessed” sweatshirt.
Faltz, known to his friends as Zo, stops and greets his buddies with a, “What’s up, fam?” after approaching them with his classic sneak attack move on the first floor near the main entrance of the union. Though this gesture is nothing new, his friends still act surprised.
Faltz notices that one of his best friends, Elijah Brantley, a junior studying business administration, is frustratingly staring at the ground, jaw tightened. Faltz guides Brantley to a quiet corner underneath the steps of the union where they can talk. Once the two are alone, Brantley finally exhales and expresses the academic stress he’s been carrying.
In his calm, composed voice, Faltz reassures Brantley by saying, “Hey man, it’s all going to be okay. You got this—just breathe.” Brantley responds with a nod and a smile. Then suddenly, Brantley looks at the clock and his eyes widen. “I gotta bounce, Zo,” he says, “my exam is about to start.”
The two young men, as close as brothers, dab each other up and part ways. Faltz barely gets a second to himself because seemingly out of nowhere, another one of his friends appears and a new conversation quickly sparks.
For Faltz, a senior double majoring in psychology and family science, every day is an opportunity to hold space for others and share messages rooted in strength and encouragement. This is a part of his purpose—and one of the reasons he wakes up every morning.
“There is a beauty of making an impact on people’s lives by showing joy, kindness and spreading love,” says Faltz. “It’s like a domino effect—and it really does make a difference.”
Faltz’s efforts have paid off this fall. He published a poetry book, “What They Don’t Tell You, V1,” which focuses on his personal experiences of transforming life’s difficult moments into an opportunity to embrace joy and positivity. He was also crowned Towson’s homecoming king and has become a widely recognized figure at Towson. Faltz has been showcased as a student ambassador on billboards across Towson’s campus and has been featured on the university’s social media pages.
Even after losing his brother at a young age, Faltz has remained resilient. He makes an active choice every day to pour himself into campus life, prioritize his own self-care and pursue his professional ambitions with unwavering determination.
Becoming Homecoming King
On Oct. 11, Faltz was crowned Towson’s homecoming king alongside homecoming queen Kiara Betanga during halftime at Towson’s football game against the Monmouth Hawks. The titles of homecoming king and queen are given to two students that best represent TU’s spirit, leadership and values. They are nominated by members of the community.
Faltz had no expectation of winning the title of homecoming king. Being a part of the homecoming court was just another way he could get involved in student life while making a positive impact.
“Every member of the homecoming court was amazing, so I knew I would’ve been happy for whoever won,” Faltz said.
When the moment arrived and the announcer’s voice beamed across SECU Arena, Faltz said hearing his name “felt surreal.” After the ceremony, he said, “the homecoming court and I walked across campus from SECU arena to the University Union. Everyone was congratulating us and taking our pictures.”
For Faltz, winning the homecoming king validated the work he had done on campus. Others agreed.
“Zo’s joy is infectious,” says Brantley, Zo’s friend. “I think that he makes such an impact through his identity and who he is. He shows people that they’re seen, that they are heard and that they are loved.”
The Inner Work Behind His Outer Impact
Even though Faltz has a role in the public eye, caring about his inner world matters just as much as how he shows up socially.
Self-love is more than just a quote Faltz preaches—it is an active choice that he commits to every day. In his eyes, self-love goes beyond how you treat yourself but also extends to surrounding yourself with an inner circle that supports and strengthens you.
Faltz has built meaningful connections within his extracurricular communities—one of them being the Rhythm Step Team at Towson. He leads as co-president. Every year the team performs at events across campus such as Dance the Madness, Vibe Dance, Noche Latina and Ebony Lounge.
“I love step,” Faltz said. “I’ve been doing step for about a year. Stomp The Yard is actually my favorite movie. That’s what inspired me to want to start stepping in the first place. I love dancing and see stepping as a form of dance. It’s another way of expressing myself. You know, with facial expressions and movement.”
Outside of choregraphing for the step team, Faltz is also a member of the TU Student Foundation, a student-led program that aims to build a culture of philanthropy and acknowledge the achievements of Towson’s students and faculty.
This program also gives students the opportunity to network, something Faltz puts to great use. “I enjoy the club because I can connect with alumni. I’ve been able to interact with the president, who I get see frequently,” he said.
In addition to his commitment to these two clubs, Faltz is also a residential assistant for Housing and Residence Life. Being an RA provides him with even more opportunities to have a positive impact on his fellow students on an interpersonal level. He carries the same energy into the classroom, where he always finds a way to leave his mark.
“College can be hard. Life can be hard,” said Emily Margolis, a clinical associate professor at Towson who had Faltz as a student in her Community Services for Families course. “But I quickly learned that no matter what is going on, Alphonso consistently brings joy and positive engagement into every space he enters.”
Though Faltz has discovered a profound sense of belonging and support within Towson’s community, he recognizes that in order to fully show up for others, he needs to make a consistent effort to show up for himself first.
Faltz engages in forms of self-care often and with intention. He says some of his favorite outlets include writing, journaling and going to the gym.
Roughly a week after being crowned homecoming king, Faltz didn’t choose to spend his birthday at crowded parties. And he didn’t even blast his win on social media. Instead, he spent his birthday weekend enjoying dinner with his family, doing small activities with his friends and journaling while listening to his afro-beats playlist.
Doing the inner work and carving out time for self-reflection has helped Faltz grow internally, which in turn has advanced other aspects of his life.
Becoming a Published Author
Faltz’s book focuses on sharing the lessons he’s learned about healing from grief, overcoming adversity and embracing life through positivity and hope. He offers his poems as guidance to anyone who may be going through a difficult time.
Community is something that shapes Faltz. In fact, his family is the first subject he mentions in his book, dedicating it to his late brother Chaz and grandmother Gertdell, ensuring that their legacies live on through his writing. Faltz’s grandmother passed away in middle school due to a car accident, and soon after, his older brother Chaz disappeared on New Year’s Eve. On March 15, 2019, after 77 days, law enforcement found his body in the Inner Harbor.
Despite these losses that had a huge impact on his upbringing, Faltz still recalls growing up with two extremely supportive parents in his hometown of Aberdeen, Maryland.
“My parents are very, very hard workers, which is a beautiful thing,” Faltz said. “That’s where I get my work ethic from.”
Through the guidance of his parents, Faltz was able to attend private schools growing up, which provided him with a rich education and extracurricular life. As a teenager, Faltz participated in soccer, basketball, wrestling, and his school’s theater club.
Faltz’s involvement became a lot to carry sometimes. He started to fear he may repeat some of the same patterns he witnessed growing up. “I didn’t see my parents taking many intentional breaks,” Faltz said. “I always saw them hustling and bustling, working or serving.”
It wasn’t until college that Faltz experimented with different outlets to relieve stress—one of which became journaling. Faltz recalls writing his first poem in the fall of 2024 at one of Towson’s dining halls. “That day I was deep in my thoughts and feelings. I wrote my first poem that night,” Faltz said. Writing that one poem led to another and swiftly grew into a collection of works.
“I counted how many poems I had that November, and I had over 70 poems,” he said. “ In March of the following year, I counted over 300.”
At that point, Faltz knew that writing poetry and sharing his literary works was a part of his purpose. So, in the spring of 2025, he began the process of publishing his first book, which would be a collection of poems he wrote. Faltz hoped that his book could be a resource for anyone who may be struggling with their own mental health.
“I tried to go to the traditional route to turn my poems into a book, I got rejected a few times,” Faltz said. But luckily his family helped him explore self-publishing routes, which turned out to be a better fit for him.
In September 2025, Faltz was able to host a book signing event: Words, Whispers and What They Don’t Tell You, where he shared some of his favorite poems from his book and signed the covers of those who had purchased a copy.
It was an unforgettable night for Fatlz—not just for the reignition of his work as an author, but also for the connections he built and the light his writing brought to others.
“I’m just a vessel—I’m just a regular guy,” Faltz said. “I could care less about the kind of recognition I get. What’s made me the happiest is when people hit me up about writing their own book because I’ve done it.”
Looking ahead, Faltz plans to write several more books focused on mental health awareness. He also anticipates earning his doctoral degree so he can provide mental health services to adolescents, young adults and athletes.
Through ongoing community involvement, Faltz aims to keep spreading messages of self-love and positivity. For Faltz, everything begins within—what shines externally is just a mirror of what’s unfolding intrinsically.
“Be present and live life to the fullest,” Faltz gives as guidance. “Because at the end of the day, you may never get today back, and you may not even see tomorrow. Every day is a blessing.”