Thomas Lee Boam, 26-year veteran and senior diplomat for the United States Foreign Service, visited BYU-Hawaii as part of a short-term "diplomat in residence" program.
The program, co-sponsored by the David O. McKay Center for Intercultural Understanding and Career Services, included a general forum, guest lectures in the classroom and small question and answer sessions.
The topic of the forum was our responsibilities as global citizens. Boam began with a story of the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, which he personally witnessed while on duty in Germany. Those Cold War divisions are gone, he said, but there are modern divisions that challenge us even more today.
These divisions are cultural, he explained, and "while it is good to learn the customs and adapt to other cultures, we cannot hope to become well versed in every culture we are likely to encounter. Being a good global citizen starts with being a good, genuine person."
"We must establish deep ethical standards and then do what is right and let the consequences follow," he continued. "That is important to becoming a global citizen, and then you can be successful in whatever you do."
In addition to the general forum, Boam visited several classes as a guest lecturer, including International Organizational Behavior, International Relations Theory, International Finance, Global Marketing and Modern Nationalism and Globalization.
"Dr. Boam provided a very useful real-world perspective that gives some substance to our more theoretical discussions in class," said Michael Allen, professor of history and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "We had an excellent discussion, sparked by his opening comments and then propelled by the students' questions."
"He told stories of his diplomatic experiences and we tried to relate them to the political theories of the class," said Dale Robertson, professor of political science and chair of the social sciences department. "He also talked about the importance of a liberal arts education in a diplomatic career."
"He spoke about the importance of adhering to a high ethical standard, not giving in to corruption and not compromising your personal standards," said Clayton Hubner, professor of international business. "Having people like Lee Boam spend time with our students inoculates them with a stiff dose of reality that will help them be strong and succeed when the time comes for them to find their place in the world."
"We were so fortunate to have Dr. Boam visit our university," added Kim Austin, Director of Career Services. "Small campuses like ours usually don't get the opportunity to have a diplomat in residence, even for a short time."
Boam also conducted several career labs with small groups of interested students, fielding questions about possible employment in the Foreign Service. In response to a question on how students could begin to prepare for a diplomatic career, Boam said that students need to be "interested in life" in general and "love to learn new things."
Boam currently serves as the Minister Counselor of Commercial Affairs at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa, Canada. Immediately prior to that, he successfully completed a three year assignment in the People's Republic of China. Other previous include the Consul and Senior Commercial Officer in Hong Kong and Consul General in Germany, where he served an LDS mission. He is fluent in both German and Mandarin Chinese.
Prior to his government service, Boam worked 13 years as the director of international operations for a large organization and managed negotiations and projects in 73 countries.
Boam holds a Ph.D. in organizational leadership from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA and B.A. in industrial psychology from the University of Utah. He is currently an adjunct associate professor with the University of Maryland teaching business and organizational behavior in the university's distance education program, Asia division.
Amidst all of his professional accomplishments and world travels, Boam and his wife, Myrna, raised four children (one of which married Ken Jennings, the Jeopardy prodigy) and now have several grandchildren.