Thomas has been a part of the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute since 7th grade. Over the course of these six years, he has developed as a leader and critical thinker through the various robotics and science fair competitions he has participated in. He is thankful for this close-knit learning community which has assisted him on taking a challenging course load and pursuing various intellectual interests. As the president of SLI's Student Leadership Committee, he aims to give back to the program that has given him so much by working alongside his peers and teachers to develop curriculum for current and future SLI students.

Outside of SLI, Thomas has cultivated an interest in neuroscience through taking courses at his local community college, designing a neuroscience lecture series for middle schoolers, and participating in brain computer interface research at UC Irvine. Motivated by his volunteering experience at the Santa Clara Therapeutic Recreation Center, he now runs the Embracing Special Needs Blog, which shares stories from disabled adults to help raise awareness of mainstream ableism. In his free time, he enjoys creating balloon animals and playing football with friends.