Thomas Alexander was awarded the Liberal Arts Covenant award on Nov. 4.

Alexander, majoring in  both physics and business communications, was nominated by friend and fellow physics major Trent Anderson. 

"I nominated Tom because really he has two majors that have nothing to do with each other," explained Anderson.  "We met at the end of our freshman year. At first I just thought he was a big goof."

Alexander explained that some of that goofiness was shown on Thursday night.

"I really wanted to win, so when I got up there I just had a big goofy grin on my face" he said.

Billy Thomas was Alexander's hall director for two years.

"Tom is open-minded. I suggested he join Serving and Learning Together (SALT), and he didn't think twice about it. A year later I suggested he become a PA, and now this year he applied and became a PA," Thomas said. "Tom is involved, dedicated to school work and doesn't quit until the job is done."

Being involved at Augustana is what led Anderson to nominate Alexander for the award.

"He started the physics honor club, he's a Peer Advisor and he volunteers all the time," Anderson said. "It has been really fun to watch him mature. He is nothing like I expected him to be two and a half years ago."

On top of SALT, the physics honor club, and being a PA, Alexander has found other ways to become involved.

"I'm in the band, where I play the tenor saxophone, and I love it. In my free time I also have been teaching myself the bagpipes," said Alexander. "If I need to relax, I like playing video games with my friends. I enjoy fix-up projects like buying broken iPhones and fixing them. I love to play ping-pong too, so really my free time is pretty full."

After college, Alexander plans to find a job teaching either physics or business, but eventually plans on earning his Ph.D. in physics.

"I'd love to teach at a school like Augie. It would be crazy if I got to end up working alongside my current research advisors," Alexander said.

Thomas was pleased that Alexander was nominated by a peer.

"We send out a lot of messages for students to nominate, but I think more people need to nominate," Thomas said.

Anderson agrees with Thomas.

"I saw someone who deserved the award and took the time to nominate him," he said. "It's our right as students to do this. It's like voting; it's our choice to nominate."

Alexander is pleased that he was nominated by a friend.

"It means that one of my peers went out of their way to put forth an effort to nominate me for this award and that means a lot," Alexander said. "Being nominated by a professor has merit too; it means that you stand out enough from the rest of the student body to be noticed."

Alexander credits Augustana for allowing him the opportunities to enjoy the liberal arts.

"At bigger state schools, it would not be possible for me to major in physics and business." He explained. "Only at schools like Augie can students really involve themselves in whatever they find interesting."