Thomas P. Aguilar
Division III International Vice President
International Vice President for Division III Thomas Aguilar is a member of Upsilon Mu Chapter at Illinois Central College in Illinois.
A highly decorated combat veteran, Thomas is a former United States Marine, and saw action in the Middle East. He graduated top in his class as a Marine Primary Marksmanship Instructor.
A man of wide interests, Thomas divides his spare time between volunteering in a number of community service initiatives, and such hobbies as boxing and motorcycling. He plans to make a trans-America motorcycle trip from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, before he finishes college. Thomas has also won writing awards and holds a commercial trucker's license.
Thomas is majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Central College, and plans to transfer to the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. There he will follow the Professional Pilot Curriculum and also major in Mechanical Engineering. He would like to pursue graduate studies at Notre Dame.
While Thomas enjoys the challenges of a mechanical engineering curriculum, he is undecided about a career. "I love to work with, serve, and help people," he says. "At some point I feel that I will work in education. I also do not rule out politics as I feel there is a strong need to restore the public faith in government through good leaders. Ultimately, whatever I choose, I will do so by evaluating if it will serve a constructive purpose".
Thomas volunteers regularly with Habitat for Humanity and with the local Catholic Diocese, and also tutors at schools serving low-income minority students.
He has served as Phi Theta Kappa chapter president, and was the local coordinator for WALKSUDAN, which raises funds and collects books to build a community in Southern Sudan. The chapter collected $75,000 and 35,000 books in the first year, and has a goal of $250,000 for the second year. The Illinois Region has also adopted the WALKSUDAN project.
As a veteran, Thomas could have attended a four-year college, but chose community college primarily because he was returning to the classroom after an absence of seven years. He chose to stay at Illinois Central College because of "the personal support from staff and faculty and the experience I've had through Phi Theta Kappa."
Thomas believes the major challenge facing community colleges is the decline in state and capital funding, which has caused increases in tuition and in local taxes. "If we take away one of the principal strengths of community college - affordability - we will see a sharp decline in one of the cornerstones of our higher education system. Community colleges are the institutions that are here to ensure that education is available for everyone."
