Alumni Spotlight: Nicole Thomas

Nicole Thomas (’92, English), is a Senior Search Account Manager at Yahoo.

“I manage the paid search accounts for a number of premium agencies and direct clients,” said Thomas.

She fell into the industry in 1999, after earning a second MFA in Screenwriting, from The American Film Institute.

“It was a small start-up and then a few years later, Yahoo bought us. I’ve had the pleasure of working between two amazing companies, Yahoo and Microsoft. It’s been quite a ride!” says Thomas.

During her tenure at SUU, she took classes from many stellar professors. However, Dr. David Lee and Dr. Kay Cook in the English Department really stood out. They were mentors and friends who expected nothing less than her “A” game.

“While my profession in Online Media and my degrees don’t appear on the surface to relate, they gave me a foundation of writing, critical thinking, and communication that I lean on every day,” explains Thomas.

A fun SUU memory for Thomas was borrowing lunch trays from the cafeteria and using them to slide down little hills on the quad with friends after a snowfall.

In 1995, while attending The University of Nevada, Las Vegas earning her MFA in theatre, a play she wrote, “Color of Bruise,” was selected as part of the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s New American Playwright’s Project. It later went to the 1995 Regional American College Theatre Festival.

The experience that has shaped her life most was moving to the United Kingdom ten years ago. Thomas was once interviewed by The Guardian Newspaper about a divorce party (her own) she was planning. She loves to jive dance and has a passion for mid-century clothing and furniture. Nicole lives in London, England, with her fiancé and their cat.

Originally posted on suu.edu in June 2015