“Kindness, Cookies, and Travel”: A Conversation with Instructor in Health Brandon Thomas

By RICARDO OSEI ADDAE, LOGAN BECKERLE, AADITYA BILAKANTI, ADRIAN CHAN,  ELLEN JIN, OLIVIA LITTLEFIELD, ALEXA MOREL, SEAN RICARD, JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN, and KEVIN THANT

Kindness, cookies and travel: three words that could very well be used to describe Instructor of Health Brandon Thomas. With his return to campus following a spring sabbatical in which he traveled the world, Thomas came back with many experiences and lessons to share.

Through stories and posts on his Instagram, Exeter students caught glimpses of his journey, which brought him to Japan, South Korea, Columbia, and more.

While Thomas found joy in every place he visited, landing on a favorite country proved difficult. Instead, he settled on an underrated one worth shouting out: Jordan. “I don’t want to say I had a favorite place, but one of the places that I encourage a lot of people to visit was Amman, Jordan,” said Thomas. “I think the city has so much culture. It has a very unique landscape. It’s gorgeous. The food was good, and it had one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I think there’s a little bit for everybody.” 

In particular, seeing the ruins of Petra amid miles of desert was particularly noteworthy for the Health Instructor. The daily Call to Prayer experienced in Jordan struck a chord with Thomas, too: “I’m someone who loves levels of spirituality. So for me, hearing the prayer on a daily basis, I love that because it’s just like a subtle reminder of, ‘Hey, listen, there’s a higher being or there’s something more that people connect to,’ which I love.”

Thomas also mentioned Brazil as another standout in his travels. 

“The way in which people can exist there is just really different,” he said. “As a black man, I’ve been to very few places where I haven’t been stared at, and Brazil was one where nobody was worried about me. So I could exist in ways in which I can’t exist in other places, particularly the United States.” 

That difference in culture from the U.S. was a theme he picked up on in both nations: in the freedom with which Brazilians expressed themselves, and the friendliness of people in the Jordanian markets, wherein he could try different foods without judgment. 

Not only does Thomas document his travels on Instagram, but very often pictures of cookies pop up on his stories, too. As a food lover, Thomas has been bringing students together since quarantine times with the aroma of freshly baked cookies. 

“It might’ve been during the pandemic, I just started baking cookies to have students come by a little bit more because the pandemic kind of told everybody to stay away. And then they started asking for them all the time.” Now a tradition, every duty night in Webster Hall, Thomas brings his own warm cookies for students of any dorm. Over the years, Thomas has mastered that craft: ‘“ have it down to a science: 11 minutes, 30 seconds is exactly what I need.” For Thomas, food holds more weight than just flavor – it’s a form of connection.

He also makes cinnamon rolls and rice krispie treats, though his generosity ends with his cookies. The other baked goods he usually keeps for himself, too good to share. Beyond baking, though, Thomas also declared that he cooks the best shrimp and grits between here and Virginia – and is ready to bet on that, even if betting is against school rules.

Being an avid traveler and chef, the conversation naturally pivoted to the intersection food and travel and the world’s range of cuisines. For one, Thomas’ time in Ghana introduced him to a delicious breakfast pastry: bofrot. 

“Flaky and crispy all at the same time, soft on the inside and… sweet and doughy,” paired with chocolate milk and fresh juices composed a daily meal that he fondly reminisces.

Having been to 46 states and more than 55 countries, Thomas’ tip for others was to take a cooking class wherever they go. With the experience of “collecting different things from different cultures, and being able to not only connect with different people, but also to make it for my family and my friends,” he said. Cooking becomes a core motivator wherever he goes. Through those lessons, not only has he learned to make authentic Pad Thai in Thailand, but he has made lifelong friends from across the globe. For instance, he met a former cooking classmate from a class he took in Colombia, in Beijing. Both of them shocked that they’d cross paths again.

Many students have noted Thomas as a favorite figure on campus. In particular, alumna and former advisee Shantelle Subkhanberdina ‘22, posed a pair of questions for us to ask him: “Why are you so awesome? And who inspires you to be so awesome?” Thomas reflected for a moment before answering those.

“I think I’m a collection of not only the people I’ve met in life, but I’m a collection of my experiences. And I’ve had a number of different experiences that have been both awesome and challenging. And I think that has created some level of empathy and another level of forgiveness that I just try to show the world,” said Thomas. “And for me, I just really think life is just so much fun, and I just want to live it to the fullest. So, maybe that contributes to her perceived awesomeness.” 

His inspiration came from a similar spot, a collection of what makes him himself. “100% myself. Feel my energy on this one, but man, I do it for my whole neighborhood and all the people who I’ve interacted with over the course of my life.”

Over seven years of teaching at Exeter, things change. Those inner values and Thomas’ outlook on students’ behavior, in particular. “I think sometimes because you all are so astute, in the classroom, sometimes we forget that you all are 14-20 years old… while you may read at a level which is, out of this world, you still are dealing with 14-year-olds. The way in which I have to approach that is to not treat you like a 22-year-old, or the level at which you’re performing academically, but to also just understand that, you know, at 16, I needed a lot of grace as well.” As such, Mr. Thomas makes a continuous effort to act empathetically, keeping in mind teenagers are still just teenagers. 

He cites the motivation behind that mindset as his high school French teacher. Particularly, Thomas believes that she saw something in him that he didn’t. That attitude is something that he’s carried and built upon at Exeter:  

“Sometimes I see students and sometimes I push them, not because I’m trying to be a jerk or trying to be someone who’s difficult, but because I see something in them that they don’t see in themselves,” he said.

Thomas, dorm faculty member of Webster Hall, reflected on his relationship with the dorm, “I’ve never been attached to another dorm. Webster’s the only dorm I know… I think I really enjoy how much they like hanging out with each other.” He continued to reflect on dorm life. “You all move into a dorm when you’re 14, right? And you live with each other for four years… And that is a super formative time. I would make an argument that you all build bonds as strong as family members in these four years that you’re here… I hope that this place, no matter how long it exists, people continue to build those bonds that they cling to for a lifetime”.

Thomas also shared his thoughts on the strong community felt within the Health department, “I’m so lucky to work with those people, I mean, just, we are so different, but we’re always on the same page in terms of our love, respect and treatment of students. I think the way in which we are holistic in our approach, but how we do it with such kindness, I can appreciate that. I think, the way in which we can be ourselves in our classroom and really create a space for a student to show their authentic selves is truly special.” 

With another possible sabbatical coming up in five years, and the memories of his recent experiences still fresh in his mind, Thomas had a lot of ideas for how he would approach it differently if he could redo his sabbatical, or how he’d plan one in the future. Instead of traveling around the globe, the opposite idea seemed very tempting. Volunteering at one, fixed location might be on the horizon for Thomas – whether it be teaching English, or working on a farm, making someone’s life easier is the goal.

Another aspiration of Thomas’ is to become a polyglot: “Right now I got Spanish, English, and a little bit of Mandarin. And I’m learning Portuguese as we speak. The next one will be Arabic. And then I’d have to speak French.” 

The chat wrapped up with Thomas offering a piece of advice for readers: “Don’t be afraid to live. Just do it and see what happens. I think sometimes we talk ourselves out of all the amazing opportunities because we are just afraid to live. Like, you know what, it’s not going to go perfect, but you know what, it might go really well, it might also go bad. And then you learn from it and then you get back on the horse. I do more cool stuff on accident than I actually plan for myself. So don’t be afraid to live, there’s so many unique things, unique experiences. As long as you really are true to yourself and you put yourself out there, it’ll help.”