Thomas brings eager mind, heart to Columbia

March 17, 2009 • written by Shruti Shrivastav

Legend has it that a statue at Columbia called the Alma Mater hides an owl. Whichever incoming freshman finds that owl becomes valedictorian.

Senior Chris Thomas plans on searching that statue very thoroughly, once he gets there next fall. After signing a letter of intent to attend and play football, all of his supporters have no doubt that whether or not he finds that owl, he will be successful at Columbia University, a premier Ivy League school in New York City.

“I don’t have any doubts about his work ethic, he was the hardest worker we had on the football team, I don’t have any doubts about his dedication, he was the most dedicated. I don’t have any doubts about his heart, he had the most amount of heart,” theology teacher and football coach Jaime Fernandez said.

Thomas is full of ambition, and he embodies this trait in both actions and words. “How far you go in life is how hard you work,” he said.

Though he’s still in awe, he is eager to move to New York to join the Columbia Lions.

Many things about Columbia attracted Thomas. He was sure he wanted to go to an Ivy League school, but it was the people, the football coaches, and the program that won him over. “Everyday I would be growing as an athlete, as a person socially, and academically,” he said.

Columbia’s vision was exactly what Thomas was looking for. “I am a freshman coming in, so I have to think about the future, and I am trying to make an impact there,” Thomas said.

His teachers and mentors have no doubt Thomas will make an impact at Columbia.

“His attitude, his demeanor, his leadership, his passion, his heart, his desire – all the intangibles you want in a perfect student athlete he has,” Fernandez said.

Teammate and friend senior Eric Storey is glad that Chris has got this opportunity. “He’s really worked hard this year and I hope he keeps his head up and runs fast,” Storey joked.

Thomas’s family supports him as well. “My parents are proud of me, but they don’t want me to be complacent. My mom’s always on me, and she’s happy I am going to Columbia, but she reminds me that I am not there yet,” he said. His parents encourage him to stay focused and push him to strive for bigger and better things.

“That’s also something I want to do for myself,” Thomas said. “I want to keep pushing myself.”

This drive to do his best is just part of his personality. “Chris has a thirst for knowledge that goes far beyond what is tested,” his AP Government teacher Colleen Galloway said. “He really wants to learn about how what we are learning applies to his own life and this is his best attribute.”

Coach Fernandez has nothing but praise for Thomas. “A lot of what he wanted for himself and for the team was always, ‘What can I do to make the team better? What can I do to make this program better?’ He always looked at himself as being a catalyst for the greater success of the team,” Fernandez added.

Football isn’t his only passion though. Academics are just as important to him. “They are both two parts of the same whole,” Thomas said, adding that it’s Moreau that has helped him maintain this balance.

“[Moreau] has given me the opportunities to succeed and I came to Moreau because of all the tools they that they gave me to be successful.”

When he met with Columbia’s coach, he saw a similar drive to succeed. “It’s a love for the game. We shared the same vision,” he said.

“Passion is not something you can teach or learn, it’s something you develop over time with having commitment to what you are doing. That’s the impression I got from him, and that’s what made me want to be a Columbia Lion.”

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