Hometown: Hawthorn Woods, IL

Major: History

Future Plans: Graduate School / Historical Interpretation

Bryce Thomas was recently honored for volunteering close to 150 hours over more than two years at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in downtown Springfield. On campus, the history major is president of the History Club and head delegate for Model Illinois Government. He chose UIS because of the size of the classes, the political science and history programs and because of Springfield’s historic sites. “I like that (UIS) feels like a close knit community, and the learning environment is perfectly suited to making people feel like they belong,” he said. Following graduation, he plans to either go to graduate school for public history or find work doing historical interpretation.

Leadership is lived at UIS. Every day.