Oct. 24, 2007
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As you open your car door to head inside the supermarket, you are greeted with the familiar sound of a Salvation Army bell ringer. The sight and sound provides the ultimate reminder that the holidays are nearing and this is the season of giving. Although you were taught as a child that giving just a little bit to the less fortunate can go a long way toward making someone’s life better, the approach you take when nearing the bell ringer is more reminiscent of someone performing an undercover reconnaissance mission than someone going to buy groceries.
To Thomas Davis, that type of approach is about as unfamiliar as an August snow in Nashville. Having been raised in a household where community service and giving to the less fortunate were just a way of life, Davis has taken his generosity to another level since coming to Vanderbilt.
“My family has definitely been my inspiration and my role models,” Davis said. “My parents have always given back to the community. They’ve done a lot with the Latin community, especially with helping refugees.
“I’ve always been around service. It was one of those things I never really noticed I was doing – it has just always been a part of my life. As I’ve gotten older and more mature, I’ve realized the importance.”
Now a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, Davis’ impact in the Nashville community was felt his first year at Vanderbilt.
“Starting my freshman year, I volunteered at Baptist Hospital and my experience there developed into me taking advantage of the gift that I have to offer the Nashville community,” Davis said. “I’ve really found a strong passion for giving back.”
A member of Vanderbilt’s cross country team and one of just 49 Vanderbilt students recognized as an Ingram Scholar, Davis spends seven hours per week as a clinical interpreter at the Siloam Family Health Center, where he works primarily with immigrants.
“I just really love working at Siloam,” Davis said. “It is a great way to learn more about the patients’ cultures while giving back to others.”
Born in Michigan, but raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, for four years early in his life, Davis’ time spent in Mexico not only helped him become fluent in Spanish, it also opened his eyes to how different the two countries are. Davis still sees the differences first hand through his many visits with family friends in Mexico.
“Seeing the poverty in Mexico was definitely a factor in me getting involved with community service,” Davis said. “Just seeing what people go through in life and how bad those people want to be in America. I’ve just seen the opportunity with how fortunate I am in America. I love Mexico, but every time I go down there, I come up loving the United States even more and loving how awesome the United States is.”
A native of Louisville, Ky., Davis broadened his knowledge and community service efforts in Latin America this past summer with service work in Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico.
“I wanted to travel around Latin America because I know a lot about Mexico, but I didn’t know as much about Central American cultures, which is where a lot of patients (at Siloam Family Health Center) are from,” Davis said. “I spent three weeks in Nicaragua and three weeks in Honduras and also four weeks in Mexico, where I lived with some family friends.”
In addition to providing assistance to the less fortunate, Davis has transferred what he learned in Latin America to his work at Siloam Family Health Center. Teaching the people he works with at Siloam how to read and write is one example where Davis uses a lot of what he learned during his time with the Manna Project International in Nicaragua.
“A lot of the ideas I’ve developed have come from the methods that Manna’s been using down in Nicaragua,” Davis said. “They’ve had so much success with their literacy program that teachers in Nicaragua have asked people on projects what their strategy is. I try to use a lot of their strategies and incorporate them here as well.”
In addition to everything he has provided the community, Davis has been a key cog this season for Vanderbilt’s cross country team. In four meets this season, Davis has finished first or second on the team at each. In fact, Davis led the Commodores at the Louisville Invitational on Sept. 29. With the SEC Championships taking place this coming weekend, Davis is in prime shape for another strong performance.
“I think the greatest thing that has helped me this year has been experience,” Davis said. “Coming from high school and running the 5K, jumping up to college and running the 8K and eventually at end of the season the 10K, was a big adjustment. “It was like playing a fifth quarter in football.”
Coupled with his success on the team, Davis’ commitment to serving the community has helped him earn even more respect from his teammates and coaches.
“I think he is quietly stepping into that role of a leader,” cross country coach Steve Keith said. “I know that everyone on the team respects Thomas’ ability and Thomas as a person as well.”
Keith also believes that Davis’ experience of helping in the community has helped him in race situations.
“I think anytime you have life experiences like Thomas has, it makes you respect what you are trying to do and the opportunity that you have,” Keith said. “Obviously, those life experiences can shape you. He’s a good student and is emotionally stable, and that really helps him a lot in a stressful race situation as well.”
As for this upcoming summer, Davis has plans to return to Mexico to work on becoming bilingual, but his main objective has a much larger outlook.
“I’d like to develop a service-oriented mindset in Mexico,” Davis said. “A difference between the United States and Mexico is that the United States is a lot more giving, especially the wealthy. I really just want to try and encourage people down there to have a more giving mindset. I want to get students to begin volunteering at a younger age so that it becomes part of their life when they become adults.”
Although graduation is still more than a year away for Davis, he already has thoughts on what he would like to do after graduation … and his thoughts shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
“I want to go to medical school to become a doctor and I definitely want to maintain my service mindset for the focus of my career,” Davis said. “I’d love to spend a couple of years living in Latin America, but at the same having been down to those countries and realizing how awesome the United States is, a lot of times I feel that service starts at home and making my country an even better place.”
