Philosophy Department | Alumni Spotlight Series

Alumni Spotlight Series

Alumni spotlight SERIES

Are you an alumna or alumnus of UNCG’s Philosophy Department? If so, we’d love to feature you as part of our Alumni Spotlight series. 


The spotlights will be shared on our Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/uncgphilosophy/) and on this page. If you’d like to be featured, please fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/r/Wqguh9kU8C We will let you know when your spotlight will be posted.

Alumni Spotlight Dr. Krista K. Thomason (UNCG graduation: 2002) Quote: Philosophy is for everyone! It doesn't matter what your background is or what career you go into. Philosophy helps you learn how to think for yourself and that's one of the most important things humans need to do. URL: https://philosophy.uncg.edu/alumni-spotlight/ Tell us about yourself! “I'm originally from Carolina Beach, NC. I applied to UNCG because it had a strong arts program. I had originally planned to be a Theater major, but I fell in love with Philosophy instead. I was the inaugural winner of the Schwirck Award (which is still on display in my office!). I graduated in 2002 with a double major in Philosophy and Classical Studies. I went on to do a PhD in Philosophy at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I'm now an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Swarthmore College. I live outside of Philadelphia with my husband (also a UNCG alum) and my elderly dog.” What is your favorite memory of your time in the Philosophy Department? “I can't even narrow it down, there are so many. My professors were obviously the most important part of my experience. Terrance McConnell was my mentor and without him I wouldn't have made it into graduate school. I took time off in between my BA and my PhD. When I decided to apply to go back, Terry helped me with my writing sample. Here he was reading my drafts after I had graduated! But that was who the faculty were: they always cared.” How did studying Philosophy at UNCG help you end up where you are today? “It's not an overstatement to say that the UNCG Philosophy Department changed my life. I was a first-generation/low-income college student. My parents wouldn't have been able to send me to college at all had it not been for my scholarship (I got a full ride to UNCG). I know there is a stereotype about first-gen students that they only want to major in "practical things" and don't see the value in a major like Philosophy. But I think a passion for learning knows no socioeconomic boundaries. Even though my parents didn't have a college education, they read books and valued learning. Once I got to college, they wanted me to study what made me happy. The way they saw it, they had to work jobs they didn't like just to pay the bills and they wanted me to do something I loved.” What was the most impactful experience you had in your time with the Philosophy Department? “My professors encouraged me every step of the way. They gave me the confidence to think for myself and to actually use my own mind. They were the ones who pushed me to think about graduate school when that wasn't on my radar at all. When I became a professor, I wanted to work with undergraduates because I wanted to do for others what my professors had done for me.”

Luis Medina (UNCG Graduation: 2014) Quote: More than ever, I believe the idea that reason is a part of humanity’s higher nature, a part that we should seek to retain. ttps://philosophy.uncg.edu/alumni-spotlight/ Tell us about yourself! “I had a kid and became a plumber. Then I ended up being a local organizer for 7 yrs. Currently, I am still a plumber, I am no longer organizing, I have two kids, and I read more philosophy today than I did in college.” What is your favorite memory of your time in the Philosophy Department? “I have quite a few. If I had to settle on one, I guess it was when Dr. Leplin attempted to solve the mind body problem.” What was the most impactful experience you had in your time with the Philosophy Department? “I think my first “real” philosophy class, “philosophy of psychology” with professor Gert. I was always good at arguing but that class taught me that philosophy is difficult. It also taught me that I have a capacity to understand it. It was in that class I read some classics like “What it’s like to be a bat” by Thomas Nagel.” How did studying Philosophy at UNCG help you end up where you are today? “Well, I’m a plumber. Seriously, I would have to say that philosophy was a rational avenue and I kind of gave up on rational avenues. In 2016, I got involved in organizing and eventually I began reading a lot of Marx and Marxist philosophy. It aligned with my observations about the world and what we had made of it. I don’t think I could understand Marx as well as I do, or how very different his analysis is when compared with almost everything following Kant. I guess in some sense Philosophy brought me to Marx and Marxism brought me back to philosophy. I don’t think reason will solve all our problems. Humanity isn’t particularly reasonable and we have put ourselves in a pretty unreasonable position. But more than ever, I believe the idea that reason is a part of humanity’s higher nature, a part that we should seek to retain.” Is there any other information you'd like to share? “I am reading Heidegger and Nietzsche to better understand the ideology of the political right, and Gerog Lukacs who was a Marxist and a contemporary and adversary of Heidegger. I am also revisiting Hegel to better understand the divisions of the philosophical school following Kant.”

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