A retired US Army officer and aspiring Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Thomas Mengesha completed a bachelor's degree in political science at The University of South Carolina in 1991 and earned the Army ROTC Scholarship, among other awards, while enrolled at the school. He subsequently earned a master's degree in public administration and juris doctor from The University of Akron and Thomas M. Cooley Law School, respectively, while serving active duty. Thomas Mengesha last served the US Army as deputy director of its theater Rest and Recuperation program at Camp Arifjan Army Base in Kuwait. Thomas Mengesha served one of his two combat tours in this capacity and was tasked with oversight of the entire R&R program as well as monitoring daily flight schedules, analyzing trends to determine systemic issues, and acting as Coalition Forces Land Component Command liaison with the US Army Headquarters, CENTCOM, and the Human Resources Command. He received several awards and honors throughout his service including multiple Army Commendation Medals and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Upon retiring from active duty, Thomas Mengesha joined the Department of Veterans Affairs as a rating veterans service representative. He later worked for the department as the station's Privacy Officer and, as of 2019, has served as a Casualty Assistance Coordinator. In this role, he is responsible for providing support and resources to family members in the event of a casualty of an active duty family member. Moreover, he is working to become a clinical neuroscience mental health counselor by pursuing a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling at Walden University.