01/08/2025
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These annual awards, nominated by students and staff of the University, celebrate the achievements of Cambridge students who volunteer across the University and the wider Cambridge community. Thomas' category recognises students who are committed to student voice across the University, and have a track record of working to ensure the student body is represented in their academic spaces.
Thomas, who grew up in Seattle, is studying for an MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration in the Department of Land Economy. His focus is affordable housing policy and large-scale redevelopment in cities like London.
"Before I came here," says Thomas, "I was in the industry, so I actually worked in the affordable housing sector, where I oversaw the construction and development of something like 2,000 affordable homes across the western United States. The crisis is not getting any better. I came here to get a global perspective, because this type of housing affordability crunch is facing all the western countries right now."
When Thomas started his course, he quickly noticed that the three cohorts within Land Economy — environmental policy, planning, and real estate finance — largely kept themselves separate from each other.
"Each MPhil was very siloed, and in fact, more than that, I think each MPhil draws different groups of people. Within each one, there was an attitude of 'our way is the best, and we don't understand those people over there.' I wanted to help people understand that we could all work together across these disciplines. Creating great places and building cities requires the input of all three of those practices."
Seeing an opportunity to make a positive change and bridge the divide, Thomas ran for Academic Rep and now represents the three different Land Economy MPhils.
Early in the academic year, Thomas had the opportunity to advocate for his peers. "There was a research methods course: everybody comes at that course from a different place, and we all need to get to the same understanding, and a lot of people struggled. I was able to collect some data and work with the professor, who redesigned the examination, and they also provided some additional resources for students. That was a big early achievement."
Thomas was also able later to secure a budget for ongoing cross-disciplinary socials, which provide informal opportunities for students in each MPhil and the PhD programme to come and mix. The planning students also took a course trip to Vienna, funded by the department, where they were able to meet with policymakers and academics and to learn about how Austria has navigated housing policy.
For Thomas, the role of Academic Rep is interesting because it can be shaped by each individual rep.
"It can be what you make of it, right? There's no prescription from the Students' Union about what you’re supposed to do. Maybe some ideas. But if you're looking to bring people together or if you're looking to advocate on behalf of a group, I think it's a great opportunity to do that. I saw the need, and that's why I did it. But because you run early in the course, if you just want to be a general advocate, you can run and then from there see what the need is."
"I think being the rep has helped people know who I am, and people have come to me for help. So that feels empowering to be a trusted reference or trusted resource."
At Wolfson, Thomas is reminded of his undergraduate degree nearly a decade ago.
"I've met some great friends at Wolfson. I think it's been fun to be back in a college setting where everybody lives on site. The people here who work at the College are all very friendly, which is not the case or not my experience with all Cambridge colleges! So I’ve always appreciated the welcoming atmosphere of the College."
He pauses for a moment and adds, "And our food is the best!"
Learn more
The winners of the Cambridge Students' Awards 2025 will be announced at an awards ceremony on Thursday 26 June. You can see the full list of shortlisted students for this year's awards on the . Good luck, Thomas!
