Thomas Gooding, a native of North Carolina, comes to Georgetown with an interest in civil rights and human rights law. Thomas graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and Religious Studies, with a minor in Social and Economic Justice. During college, Thomas explored diverse avenues for advancing social justice in his local community and beyond. He conducted independent research on human rights and peacebuilding efforts in Palestine and Israel; he volunteered with a community development organization in India, where he created a short film profiling the organization’s youth empowerment program; and he participated in various initiatives for community and justice in North Carolina, from establishing a forum for combatting religious intolerance to serving as a mentor for resettled refugees.

After graduating from college, Thomas returned to the Middle East and South Asia, where he engaged in various human rights and humanitarian programs—developing education initiatives for youth in Mumbai, working with Palestinian farmers during their fall harvest near Bethlehem, and supporting relief and development projects for Syrian refugees in Istanbul. Prior to attending Georgetown, Thomas served as the advocacy and communications coordinator for a Syrian humanitarian nonprofit in Washington, D.C. In this position, Thomas helped plan and execute local advocacy campaigns and improve the organization’s national communications and development efforts.

As a first-year law student at Georgetown, Thomas is eager to become a better advocate for social justice and human rights.