Tommy Corcoran

B.A. in Political Science, concentration in Economics, 2002

Professional Staff Member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Washington, D.C.

To meet him is to like him. Right away. Great handshake, perfect smile, and the eyes — he really looks at you, because he cares. A political science major with a concentration in psychology, Tommy Corcoran is passionate about helping others, about connecting to people and building lasting relationships.

He credits Guilford College with helping him find his passions and with challenging him to treat all people with respect, even if their thoughts and opinions differ from his. That’s one of the reasons he has been successful as a 26-year-old member of a Congressional committee, he says — he is appreciated because he takes the extra time and effort to be genuinely respectful of opposing points of view.

Someday Tommy might be working with youth full-time (he’s extremely committed already to Young Life, a ministry to teens); someday he might be working in the White House. He vows that his Guilford College experiences taught — convinced — him that he should try new things. In fact, he says, his experiences at Guilford gave him the strong belief that he can always, always find common ground on which to build new and meaningful relationships. With anyone.

What a grand lesson.

He sums it up like this: “If you go to Guilford College, you might learn what you want to do in life, you might not. What you most definitely will learn is who you are, who you truly are.” And that’s knowledge that will shape the rest of your life.

Ultimate Frisbee on the Guilford College campus, he recalls, first introduced him to people who were vastly different from him, and it taught him to play with them, to respect them and to enjoy their differences. The diversity he encountered at Guilford taught him to identify and acknowledge his own passion for helping others. “The students I was with at Guilford were not afraid to be themselves! They taught me to be committed to my own passions, and I never want to forget that or drift away from it.”

The Ultimate Frisbee experiences started things, but Young Life, ah, that’s where it happened for Tommy.

He admits that his current job is downright remarkable — he is working for a Congressional committee. Right here in D.C. If you watch the right televised hearings from Congress, you’ll likely see him sitting behind the major participants, scooting in and out for backup materials, providing answers on the spot, playing a significant role in oversight activities on the Hill. Many people would covet his job. But Young Life still has his heart.

He says that of all his college memories, the time with Greensboro Young Life at Guilford College stands out as the most important. He says the professors at Guilford — in fact, that the entire college — truly encouraged him and all his classmates to embrace volunteerism … and his Young Life experiences opened his eyes to his true passion, certain to be a lifelong commitment.

“I know my passion now, and whatever I do, I will always be involved in young people’s lives to make an impact for generations to come.”