Daniel Thomas Story

A Louisburg Graduate Lands a Dream Job in the Nation’s Capitol

ecipe for Successby Amy Scoggin McManus

R

s a freshman at Louisburg College in the fall of 2005, Daniel Thomas knew one

thing for certain: if he did not succeed in college, he would have to answer to his mother back in D.C. “She told me before I left for school, in the most loving way possible, that if I do anything to discredit myself or the family ‘on everything I love’ it was going to be me and her. And a threat from my mother is always a good form of motivation to stay on the straight and narrow.”

Thomas says the days passed quickly and before he knew it, it was time for his first English test, which he failed. He had never been a strong student, mainly due to Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and found it difficult to focus during classroom lectures and tests. As a high school student, he struggled just to maintain a C average.

It wasn’t long after he arrived at Louisburg that Thomas looked into the Learning Partners Program, a unique program that addresses the individual learning needs of students with Learning Disabilities (LD) and ADHD. With the attention and guidance he received from the LP team, along with the individu-alized approach all LC professors take with their stu-dents, Thomas was able to succeed academically.

But his success at Louisburg was not limited to aca-demics. “I am a musician and have been for twelve years,” says Thomas. “One of my passions in life is for the drumline in a marching band. When I ap-plied to Louisburg, the brochures they sent to me talked about a young man who had started a drum-line there.” Intrigued, Thomas set out to gather more information.

“I found out that the drums were borrowed from the high school and that the drumline no longer existed. I started knocking on vice presidents’ doors, asking them if I could start up another drumline and what I would need to do to make it happen. One vice president saw the ambi-tion in me and talked to me for two hours,” Thomas explains, “letting me know that the only thing they could say was ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ So, I got back to my dorm and started doing my research. I prepared a 15-page packet with pictures, costs, and anything imaginable that they could want from me. I was also successful in getting three-fourths of the school population, including teachers and some vice presidents, to sign a petition saying they sup-ported a drumline. I received a call one week later from the board,

requesting a meeting with me. They sat me down and congratu-lated me for my efforts and gave me a $10,000 grant to purchase equipment to start a drumline for the Col-lege.”

Thomas chose to at-tend Louisburg, he says, “to set himself up for success.” Since the age of five, he knew he wanted to be a chef when he grew up, and upon leaving LC, he pursued that dream by attending the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, where he obtained his A.O.S. Degree.

When President Barack Obama took the oath of of-fice this past January, Thomas catered his brunch and had the honor of meeting the President and the first family. “Meeting our new President was one of the greatest feelings you can have,” explains Thomas. “He was so humble and friendly, but powerful.”

A typical work day for Thomas involves making sure all his orders are in, his eighteen employees have ar-rived on time, and that the highest quality of food is served. “I make sure the senators are happier when they leave the dining room than when they came,” he says. The days are long -- he arrives at the Capitol building by 6:00 a.m. and sometimes doesn’t leave until 9:00 p.m. -- but he doesn’t mind the workload. Thomas loves what he does and says he has set his future sights on becoming the White House chef.

Thomas was invited to address the incoming fresh-man class during their induction ceremony on Au-gust 16, 2009. He talked to the students about how

Louisburg empowered him to follow his dreams. “I am not the strongest writer,” he told the class, “but Learning Partners helped me write the proposal for the drumline. They didn’t hold my hand or call me every hour, but they wanted to help because I was hungry and passion-ate about what I was doing.”

Thomas has an enduring love and ap-preciation for the College. “Louisburg is one of the main reasons why I am where I am today. I don’t know what path I would have taken if I had not received the foundation, structure, and focus I needed from Louisburg College.”

A

LC President Mark La Branche with Chef Daniel Thomas ‘06 during a recent visit to the Senate Dining Room

Thomas ‘06 addressing the 2010 incoming freshman class at the College’s Induction Ceremony