“Thomas admits to being intimidated by the opportunity. "When the director of the program gave me an opera score, I said, 'I'm not an opera singer,' and he told me, 'Yes, you are.'"— Jan Gillis

“Thomas opportunities have been life changing. I know where I come from. Portsmouth. My past. My dad sold drugs, made unnecessary mistakes and was shot and killed by a police officer in a high speed chase…. I can’t act out of anger. I can’t treat it as an excuse. If you let it hold you down, you’ll sit in the same place forever.”- Jan Gillis