If you’re walking around campus you may see this tall, cool-tone talking brother on campus. Don’t be alarmed, just say hi because all he wants to do is help you.

Yes, Kwame Thomas is a bright new face on campus who is continuing to learn and grow not only as a counselor but as an adviser in an effort to achieve his goal.

His start in life began like many college students. He was enrolled in two community colleges, West Valley and De Anza College, while playing basketball and majoring in Sociology, unsure about what he wanted to pursue in life.

“Once I graduated, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” Kwame said.

He was grateful to find a stable job that was making good money, but there was something missing. However, the relationships he made with teachers and counselors at De Anza College would come back to help him later down the road.

Kwame, being unsure, went back to De Anza and talked to his former counselor about what he wanted to do for the rest of life. Kwame thanks his counselor at De Anza for helping him become a counselor himself as it allowed him to sit in on meetings, shadow ,and learn how to build relationships with students to help them achieve their aspirations. At that point, it began to click for Kwame as he decided to pursue his masters degree, graduating from San Jose State in 2011.

“I love working with people, I enjoy helping others,” Kwame said about what made him realize that he wanted to be a counselor.

He began counseling at Chabot community college then a middle school right after graduation. This put him right into action, but in the years after leaving De Anza college, he made few professional connections to help him better prepare to be a counselor today.

“There is a lot of support here on campus, their student center… Which I love. I love the diverse campus.” Kwame is huge on supporting college students and that was the big reason he wanted to counselor at Skyline.

“My main goal is that every student who I meet with, who I’m working with, gets there AA degree and transfers to the four-year university of their choice,” Kwame said was the personal goal he wants his students to achieve.

Kwame believes all students can be successful, but they first must realize their potential; the only way they can know that is by building their relationships now with teachers, counselors, deans, or anyone that is willing to help you achieve your goal.