As a young boy, maybe 10 or 11 years old, Thom Brooks set foot onto Southwestern’s campus for the first time.
His mother, Rhonda Brooks, worked full-time and had enrolled in some evening classes in an effort to better her life. Not only did young Thom have a front-row seat to his mother’s life-changing journey, he also got to participate in a class activity.
“She was taking a ‘Creative Activities’ course, and I made a shoebox camera in that class,” he recalled recently. “I entered that into the science fair at my elementary school, and it won.”
Little did young Thom know that this earliest experience was teeming with the themes that would define his future career at Southwestern Community College: Innovation, encouragement and changing lives.
Next month, Dr. Thom Brooks will depart campus for the last time as Executive Vice President of Instruction & Student Services, having successfully done his part in keeping those themes alive and thriving.
“That’s been the emotional part about it,” Dr. Brooks said, reflecting on his tenure. “I feel the college is in such a good place right now with the people who are here at the college, and the mission hasn’t wavered, and I can look back and think literally from an early age - not only how it’s affected the communities, but also how it’s affected my life, my family’s life.
“It changed the trajectory of my family’s life,” Dr. Brooks continued. “My mother was able to come here, start here, earn a degree, get a better job and model - and encourage - going to college for me. It made quite an impression.”
Despite that positive initial experience, a profession in education wasn’t on the radar in the early 1990s when Brooks started his career as an accountant.
He was approached by Renee Cohen, who at the time oversaw SCC’s robust night program, about teaching an accounting class in the evenings. As is Brooks’ trademark, he arrived with a fully prepared syllabus and lesson plan - only to find himself with a severe case of stage fright.
“‘What have I gotten myself in to?’” he recalled thinking in the moments after he stepped in front of a dozen or so students. “I remember thinking if I could just get through reviewing this course syllabus, I’ll tell everybody, ‘Have a good evening and we’ll start the next class period.’ And I remember thinking in my mind, ‘I don’t know if there’ll be a next class period.’”
There was - thankfully for Southwestern and all the lives he’s positively affected over the years.
In a bit of a happy coincidence, one of those lives was Toby Allman - a student in Dr. Brooks’ very first class. Earlier this month - In the same semester as Dr. Brooks announced his retirement - Allman was sworn in as the newest member of SCC’s Board of Trustees.
“I knew Thom already from Swain County; he was several years ahead of me in high school,” Allman recalled of that first class. “I think that was an Income Tax class, and he was one of the very best teachers I ever had. He was very friendly, very willing to help. He seemed to be a pro at it. It just kind of came naturally for him.”
In that initial cohort of accounting students, Dr. Brooks recognized the value in demonstrating how the coming wave of technology and Personal Computers (PCs) would transform their profession - so he gathered them around one of the few PCs on campus.
Just as when he later sought to bring ceiling-mounted data projectors on campus, Dr. Brooks was impressed by how his superiors not only encouraged his innovative ideas - they helped him connect with the resources to make it happen.
It’s a culture he and others in SCC’s senior leadership have sustained and grown over the years, as evidenced in the latest technology available in the Don Tomas Health Sciences Center as well as other facilities across all Southwestern campuses and locations.
“I remember 20 years ago at a budget hearing, Nursing instructors were showing us how they simulated IVs by raising one arm over their head then using the other hand to pretend like they were inserting a needle,” Dr. Brooks recalled. “That was nothing unusual for community colleges; a lot of our programs were underfunded. So seeing the resources we have available now in labs and instructional spaces is very rewarding. We have better facilities and equipment than we’ve ever had.”
Along with the skilled and supportive faculty and staff members, those resources are among the primary reasons Brooks has peace about his decision to leave the college that has meant so much to him - both personally and professionally.
“There are a lot of emotions; I’ve felt a lot of the same emotions as the first time I taught,” Dr. Brooks said. “Everything from fear and hesitation to excitement and anticipation; it’s all been in there.
“There’s never an ideal time to leave,” he continued. “I read somewhere recently that maybe it’s better to leave a few years too early than to stay a few years too late in a job. The thing I’m proudest of are the people. That might be the best part of what I do - having been part of the process of hiring the majority of people who are in instruction and student services now. I feel like we have good people in place, and that’s always been at the heart of SCC and what SCC is able to do.”
Over the past 13-plus years, Dr. Brooks has worked alongside Dr. Don Tomas, SCC President.
“I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Brooks on his retirement, extraordinary service to our students, college and community for more than three decades,” Dr. Tomas said. “Dr. Brooks brought a passion to his position that has set a standard to inspire future leaders. He will certainly be missed.”
