Her mother and father were adamant that their children should never enter and then leave a community without somehow making it better. It’s a lesson that guides Dr. Esther Anthony-Thomas daily, the underlying reason she became an international social justice and disability advocate, a tireless community organizer and a respected public servant. It’s the underlying reason Dr. Anthony-Thomas, a student services assistant at San Diego College of Continuing Education’s Mid-City Campus in the heart of City Heights, has been nominated for the California Community Colleges Classified Employee of the Year award.

She is beloved throughout the college, admired for her wisdom and blessed by those of whom she’s helped.

“Dr. Anthony-Thomas is a treasure,” said San Diego College of Continuing Education’s President, Dr. Tina M. King. “Her involvement in the community, her commitment to her students, and her dedication to her profession, all are beyond compare. She enriches everyone she comes in contact with.”

Her official job title of ‘student services assistant’ fails to fully describe who Dr. Anthony-Thomas truly is. Her love of learning drove her to earn several graduate degrees. She is a certified life coach, behavioral health facilitator, award-winning poet and master storyteller who is nourished by and brings nourishment to others through her role as president of Black Storytellers of San Diego, an organization with a mission to keep the African and African American culture and tradition alive. She sits on the American Federation of Teachers Local 1931 Executive Board and is the College of Continuing Education’s Classified Senate Vice President. She is a lecturer at the San Diego State University Africana Studies Department, professor for an international Christian seminary, and pastor at Truly Blessed Ministries Outreach Center that provides hope and support for the unsheltered and others in need of assistance.

Dr. Anthony-Thomas said she was filled with gratitude to be nominated for an award honoring those setting the standard in their commitment to equitable student outcomes, dedication to professional standards and ethics, and diligence in serving a diverse student population. In short, for being a leader.

“I am humbled that my efforts to maintain excellence as a community member and classified professional has allowed me to be acknowledged by those who submitted my name for this award,” she said. “I realize I stand in proxy for the thousands of amazing classified professionals who are sharing excellence each and every day a college campus door is open to new and eager learners.”

Dr. Anthony-Thomas was born in Hawaii, her father served in the Air Force, and she has lived in New York, Montana, Oklahoma and California. Raised during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, she experienced more than her share of racism throughout her journey – a journey that has fed an unsatiable passion to empower communities of color.

That journey has led her to the Student Services office at San Diego College of Continuing Education’s busiest campus. “When I am at the counter, welcoming students in, it feels like I am at the epicenter of education, especially for adults who may have encountered a previous misstep on their educational pathway. The College of Continuing Education reunites students with their greatest potential.”

“I take pride in what I do because my work centers on providing supportive student services to increase educational opportunities for diverse and underrepresented populations,” she added. “There was a time in America’s not so distant past that it was illegal for people who like me to be seen merely holding a book.”