Dr. Karen Thomas to deliver BCCC commencement address | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Beaufort County Community College has chosen Karen A. Thomas, a doctor who studied writing at BCCC and writes a column for a local newspaper, to deliver the commencement address at its 2011 graduation exercises. Thomas has been a leader in the Beaufort County and state medical community for many years.

    Though Thomas grew up in northern Virginia, where she particularly enjoyed horseback riding and other outdoor pursuits, her roots are in eastern North Carolina.

    Thomas' parents, Robert and Naomi Gurganus Alligood, grew up in Bath. They moved to the Washington, D.C., area after they graduated from high school--Naomi, to work for the FBI and, Robert, to serve as a comptroller for a lumber company in Georgetown. The family moved back to Beaufort County after Thomas graduated from a Manassas high school in 1974.

    Thomas began her studies at BCCC and is a cum laude graduate of East Carolina University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1983. After completing her baccalaureate studies at ECU, Thomas earned a medical degree from the ECU School of Medicine in 1987 and completed a family practice residency at Anderson Memorial Hospital in Anderson, S.C., in 1990.

    Thomas began her Washington-based medical practice in 1990, when she served as an associate physician at Washington Family Medicine Center. She has also served with the ECU Student Health Services in Greenville; Dominion Health Medical Associates in Chase City, Va.; Agape Community Health Clinic and Washington Women's Care in Washington; and Pungo Family Medicine in Belhaven.

    With the support of several local churches, Thomas operated a clinic in Bland, Va., in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Using donated equipment and supplies, she provided primary care for people living in the region who had no other access to medical treatment.

    Thomas is the 1983 recipient of the Helms Award, presented by the Biology Department at ECU; the 1988 alternate recipient of the Meade Johnson Award; and the 1990 recipient of the Outstanding Resident Award at Anderson, S.C.

    Thomas returned to BCCC in 2003, where she studied writing under instructor Brian Oesterreich. She is the author of several articles for medical and general-circulation periodicals, including "Straight from the Heart: Dr. Randolph Chitwood, cardiac surgery," published in Our State in 2005 and "A lighthearted way to attract new patients," published in Medical Economics in 2008.

    Thomas' family also has strong ties to North Carolina community colleges. Her husband, Bill Thomas, earned a degree in electronics from, then, Pitt Technical Institute. Her daughter, Katherine, is a student at BCCC and currently serves as one of the college's ambassadors.

    BCCC graduation ceremonies will be held May 13 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Washington High School. Admission is by ticket, available from members of the 2011 graduating class.