Thomas Bales

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East Tennessee State University is a place where you’re more than just a number, according to Thomas Bales, who found in the university a support system to help him reach for big dreams.

Thomas has fond recollections of growing up on his family’s 40-acre farm near Greeneville with parents who were supportive of him. However, he was overweight and experienced significant bullying during his early grades.

“I used to look at the ground when talking to people,” he said, “and was anxious and nervous all the time. But I’ve come so far from that. I lost about 70 to 80 pounds going into eighth grade. Losing that weight was my big step.

“I’ve always been ambitious and knew I wanted to go into politics since sixth grade. I love fighting for people of any background, making sure they feel represented. Everybody has a voice, but sometimes people don’t feel like they can exercise that voice. So I love standing up for people.”

As Thomas entered eighth grade, his mother was diagnosed with a melanoma that had spread to her lymph nodes. As she fought for her life, Thomas watched her undergo various medical procedures and be moved from facility to facility. When the end came, Thomas was not able to be with his mother due to COVID restrictions.

In anger and grief, Thomas went through a deeply rebellious, delinquent phase. But with encouragement from his father and others, he returned to his faith in God, drawing from his mother’s own faith. “Mom’s faith still inspires me to this day,” he said. “How faithful she could be and say, ‘Someone else is worse off than I am.’”

Although neither of his parents went to college, Thomas knew he wanted a degree. He toured several campuses, but he knew he’d found something special at ETSU.

“The faculty, staff and student leaders showed me that I needed to go here,” he said. “It wasn’t the same ‘copy and paste’ as at other schools. You could just tell the difference. I look back and it makes me so happy I’m a Buccaneer.”

Thomas is now a junior majoring in political science with a minor in legal studies, with an eye on a career in law and politics. After being involved in student governance from middle through high school, he’s now a senator in ETSU’s Student Government Association. He holds leadership positions in the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Golf Club and is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Board and The Well, a campus ministry. Thomas shares his love of ETSU with future Bucs as an Expedition Leader and a Preview and Orientation Leader, and he spreads the spirit of philanthropy among his ETSU peers, alumni and donors as a Student Foundation Ambassador. He looks forward to studying abroad in England, Hungary and Ghana. In addition to his studies and student activities, Thomas works near campus at 7 Brew Drive-Thru Coffee and recently traveled to North Syracuse, New York, to help open a new 7 Brew location there.

“I never expected, being a first-generation student from Greene County, to go to Africa,” he said. “I love my hometown. It’s made me who I am today, and I’ll never forget where I came from. I want to put my little town on the map. That’s my goal.”