Student
Connor Thomaston
Armed with military discipline and a drive to achieve, Connor Thomaston manages full-time student status with full-time employment and frequent volunteerism.
“Adapt and overcome.” It’s an adage that Heider College of Business junior Connor Thomaston has relied on, heavily, throughout his life. That a college student would draw upon the strength of a military mantra might seem a bit out of the ordinary, but, then again, Thomaston’s path to Creighton is a bit unorthodox.
Instead of graduating from high school in May and entering college in August like most of his classmates, Thomaston joined the Marine Corps, saying this service branch was his “only choice” due to its “professionalism and leadership.” He grew up in a military household, experiencing the transient life that service to one’s country brings. His “hometown is worldwide,” Thomaston says, and he has been to 46 states and 20 countries between childhood relocations and his own tours of duty.
I said to myself, ‘Let’s go to a high-level academic school, adapt and overcome, and get this done so I can get started on my future.'
— Connor Thomaston
Thomaston entered the Marines in 2016 as an enlisted man, adapting and overcoming to work his way up to the rank of corporal at the time of his honorable discharge. He served as an aviation all-source intelligence analyst and a general all-source intelligence analyst in Okinawa, Japan, providing his commanding officers with data essential to their strategic decision making. Additionally, he worked as a production and analysis supervisor and a battalion security management assistant stateside in North Carolina. The skills he cultivated in these positions – research, data collecting, analysis, synthesis, reporting – would later inform Thomaston’s academic pursuits.
Image
When Thomaston left the Marines in November 2020, he promptly applied to the University and was accepted in December and began his Creighton career January 2021 as a finance major on the financial analysis track. He knew what he wanted and didn’t see the need to wait until the following autumn to start. He chose Creighton for its “family-like atmosphere” and because he wanted to challenge himself to be a better person.
“I said to myself, ‘Let’s go to a high-level academic school, adapt and overcome, and get this done so I can get started on my future,’” he recalls.
Finance was a natural choice because it catered to his love of numbers and, as a self-professed “people-centric” individual, it would prepare him for a career in the service of others.
Thomaston’s extroverted personality also has fueled his commitment to volunteerism. Given his military background, it’s not too surprising that he has channeled his efforts toward organizations with an armed services connection. He is a frequent volunteer with the American Red Cross and has contributed over 150 hours as a USO center representative.
Thomaston says he is working and studying harder than he ever has in his life, and he draws upon his military discipline to achieve both his current academic goals and ultimate career goals. Whenever he feels overwhelmed, he remembers to “adapt and overcome,” to take a step back and breathe, analyze the situation, develop a strategy and then execute.
Even though, as a veteran, he is not the typical Creighton undergrad, Thomaston is more than happy to be on campus. The tight-knit community, the friendships he has forged with both fellow students and faculty members, the program caliber and the Jesuit principles that have helped him grow spiritually all make the challenge worthwhile.
“Creighton has been one of the best learning experiences in my life,” Thomaston says. “I feel like my life is at a pinnacle here at Creighton.”
