Written by Arius Gatson

Tyrique Thomas was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He attended St. Rita High School, which is also located on the South Side of Chicago. While he was attending St. Rita High School, he did not initially start off running track. Before he started to run track, he played football. Football is one of his favorite sports, but unfortunately, he had to stop playing due to financial reasons. Although he had to stop playing football, he was still able to run track since it was an offseason sport. After he stopped playing football, Thomas found an interest in running track during his sophomore year of high school.

Thomas is currently a senior at Concordia University Chicago. His major is business management, and his career goal is to work as a business analysis and eventually go into nonprofit work. Although Concordia University Chicago (CUC) wasn’t his first choice, he loves it here like no other. CUC was brought to his attention through sports because his current coach came out to recruit him. Originally, Thomas wanted to go to a much bigger school, but over time his values began to change. He wanted to be closer to home, and he began to realize that he wanted to go to a much smaller university. Smaller universities give students a chance to be closer to their professors, get involved more, and have a lot more relationships with other people. Since Thomas has been at CUC, he became very involved in student activities, games, and anything else that he is able to find time to do.

Thomas is a dedicated and very passionate individual. He works hard, studies hard, and he achieves his goals no matter what. He works hard towards his goals, and he knows in order for him to achieve his dreams, he has to continue to put his schoolwork first. School is something that is very much so important to him. Other than track, he always puts his schoolwork first. He’s a great person to be around and cares highly about his friends.

His friends can vouch for this. One of Thomas’ closest friends, LaDontis Turner said, “He’s a strong individual mindset wise, and very respectful. He’s more extroverted, very outgoing, kind, and a very loving person. You can put him into a room full  of 100 people that he doesn’t know, and he’ll make them feel welcomed in that full room of strangers.” Thomas has a unique personality. No matter who you are, you can easily get along with him, and that’s what makes him so lovable.

Track has become a big part of Thomas’ life. His specialty in track is the 110 Hurdles. He is also a short sprinter, and he runs the 200-meter runs for training. Last year, he was ranked nationally for his 110 hurdles. As a teammate, Thomas is dedicated to his team and he has a strong connection with them. One of his teammates, Crystal Holden said, “He’s very dedicated when it comes to track and academics. During track season, he’s always working on his work and track meets. He’s also a very funny person. When he’s working, he still seems to have his funny moments with the team.” Thomas is able to be committed to track and still be the life of the party with his teammates.

Being a student-athlete can be hard, but he’s always able to manage his time. Thomas is a full-time student, athlete, worker, and somehow he still can find time to have a social life. The fact that Thomas finds the time to be so involved on campus, and still have a social life is amazing. It can be hard for college students who are barely involved on campus to have a social life. He has great time management and uses his time wisely when it’s needed. He makes sure that all of his schoolwork is done before he takes time out of his day to have fun with either his teammates or his friends in general. In the past, Thomas has also been a resident assistant.

Unfortunately, he is not a resident assistant this year, but from the past years he was, he did a phenomenal job. Shelby Spitz, another resident assistant on campus, said, “Tyrique [Thomas] is strongly dedicated to connecting with his residents and making sure that they have the best experience with ‘ResLife’ that they can.”

Thomas is a very interesting, fun, and passionate individual. No matter who you are, you can always get along with him. He continues to be an energetic person, and even through hard times he continues to bring joy and laughter into his and other’s lives. He is a great person to be around and always knows how to bring life to the party.