Alumni Interview · Public Policy ’82
Tom Beckett
Four decades of mentoring, one food-bank partnership and a legacy measured in people.
Tom Beckett has attended every lantern walk since 1982 — forty-four and counting. A retired policy advisor, he has mentored more than two hundred Ridge students, brokered the association's food-bank partnership and delivered the famous 2019 homecoming speech on “showing up.”
A Career of Quiet Service
Tom spent thirty years in county government, writing the housing programs other counties copied. Colleagues describe his method in three words: listen first, write plainly, follow through. “Policy is just hospitality with a budget,” he likes to say.
“You don't need a title to be useful. You need a calendar, a car and the willingness to be the first one in the room.”
The Food Bank Partnership
What began as Tom and six classmates sorting cans one Saturday is now the Ridge Service Corps' flagship program: 900 alumni volunteer hours a year. New volunteers are always welcome — no experience needed, gloves provided.
Advice Across Generations
“Pick one thing and stay with it. I have watched classmates chase novelty for decades while the steady ones quietly rebuilt their cities. Longevity is a superpower — in service and in friendship.”
Volunteer Beside Tom
Join the next food-bank Saturday with the Ridge Service Corps.