Inspired by her grandmother, this Norfolk State volleyball player is

The Virginia Pilot, Larry Rubama:

Thomas, who is from Killeen, Texas, received an athletic scholarship to Norfolk State. She also was accepted into the Robert C. Nusbaum Honors College, which offers enhanced academic classes, co-curricular activities and special programs for high-ability students.

For the past year, Thomas has worked tirelessly as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which partnered with the Campus Vote Project to encourage voter education and participation among Spartan athletes through a campaign titled “Spartans Vote.” She’s now the organization’s civic engineer chair.

Campus Vote Project works with universities, community colleges, faculty, students and election officials to reduce barriers to student voting. Its goal is to help campuses institutionalize reforms that empower students with the information they need to register and vote.

The NSU SAAC has hosted a series of events leading up to Election Day, including an education session on voter registration earlier this month and discussion about the presidential election later this month.

For Thomas, and many of her classmates, this will be their first presidential election.

“We knew this was going to be an important year,” said Thomas, who also is the first vice president of the campus chapter of the NAACP. “I am so anxious and excited.”

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