Where are Elizabethtown College alumni now? They are all over the world. Corey Thomas, ‘07, has lived in Africa and currently resides with his wife Amanda Lalley in Bangkok, the capital and largest urban center of Thailand.

After graduating from Etown with a double major in political science and history, Thomas worked for the Peace Corps in Zambia, where he met Lalley in 2008. The couple then moved to Kenya in 2011, working in refugee resettlement.

After eight years in Africa, they relocated to Thailand in August 2016 because Lalley had the opportunity to work with the International Rescue Committee, a well-known humanitarian organization in Bangkok.

“We thought it time for a change in scenery and culture,” Thomas said.

In Bangkok, Thomas enjoys taking advantage of the inexpensive flights and trains to explore other parts of East and Southeast Asia. However, Thomas’s favorite part about living in Thailand is the food and coffee culture.

“Thai food is amazing across the board, from the local dishes served out of cart on the street up to the Michelin starred restaurants dotted around the city’s skyscrapers,” Thomas said. “It’s all delicious and each place has its own twist on the multitude of Thai dishes.”

Before moving abroad, Thomas lived locally. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and grew up in the nearby small town of Taylor, Pennsylvania.

While at Etown, Thomas belonged to the varsity tennis team, History Club, International Club and Student Senate. He was also a peer mentor and served as President of the Class of 2007.

Thomas’s favorite part about Etown is the connections he made with his peers, professors and the faculty. Since graduation, Thomas has maintained many of these relationships.

“I revel seeing old friends in random places across the world and catching up over drinks from a dive bar in Nairobi to the Raffles Hotel in Singapore,” Thomas said.