Born in Tallahassee, Florida and raised in Suwanee, Georgia, Christopher Thompson splits up his jam-packed days between work, school organizations and classes. However, his real passion is helping people better themselves, and he somehow finds ways to incorporate that desire into everything he does.
“There’s a drive in me that always pushes me to be a little bit better,” SGA Senator Christopher Thompson said.
Tracing back to his childhood, his previously shy nature wouldn’t elicit the image of the man he is today.
The oldest of three, Thompson first started breaking the chains of his timid nature when he became a brother.
“As I got siblings, I became the older parent,” Thompson said.
Although he was fortunate enough to be raised by both of his parents, they went through their rough patches like most families do. Thompson said he worked throughout high school for his own mental clarity and to catch a break from school and home.
He started working his sophomore year of high school at McDonald’s, and by his senior year he was a manager.
Since then, he has held multiple jobs such as an employee at Wild Adventures during his freshman year of college, an RA in Langdale Residence Hall during his sophomore year and as a junior he became a pharmacy tech at Publix where he still currently works.
Living for the people
Thompson was originally a chemistry major, but last spring he switched to his current major, business management.
He realized that he wasn’t really passionate about chemistry.
“I’m passionate more about people and getting them to be the best self that they really can be,” Thompson said.
When Thompson graduates in the fall of 2019, he wants to work in human resources. He plans to either go to graduate school or enter the air force, whichever comes first.
“I’ve given a lot of thought to military human resources because I feel like they don’t have a lot of resources like people say they do,” Thompson said. “Once I get out of the military [I thought of] going for a bigger company or one that hasn’t really developed.”
His focus in whichever job he finds will be people.
“I feel like people are the root of all business,” Thompson said.
People are his favorite part about being a SGA senator. Thompson loves interacting with and being a voice for students.
He ran for a vacant senator position in spring of 2017, and despite him feeling overwhelmed with a crazy schedule, Thompson said SGA has been very positive for him this semester.
He chose VSU because he had a special connection to it. His mom attended VSU, and his father was stationed here in the Air Force. He said he realized he was already home.
The one thing he would change about his college experience is to get involved earlier and actually put himself out there his freshman year.
“The clubs and organizations that we have to offer at VSU definitely foster a good relationship throughout campus,” Thompson said. “The members and the organizations go so much more beyond ‘this is an organization.’”
His parting note to students: “Come to SGA meetings. We love to see new faces, to hear new questions, and for more people to bring ideas that maybe we haven’t thought of,” Thompson said. “We really want to be a voice for the students, and we can’t be a voice without students.”
Story and photo by Ladaezjah Warrens, Staff Writer.
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