staff

Tom Cochrane

Admissions Counselor
(805)565-6002

Office Location

Office of Admissions, Kerrwood Hall

Office Available

Cell: (805)896-3145

Hometown: Lomita, CA

College Attended: Westmont College, ‘16

b="">Degree: B.A. in Economics & Business

Favorite Place on Campus: Technically it’s not on Westmont’s campus, but my favorite place on campus is Professor Chapman’s house. Professor Chapman led my Capax Dei group (a Westmont bible study program). We gathered together, Wednesday nights, to share life and find rest through prayer and scripture. This became a sacred place for me to grow my faith and seek continual spiritual renewal. Our group remained steady throughout all four years I went to Westmont and we weren’t afraid, to be honest. We would often grab lunch with one another and continue to support each other outside Wednesday nights and do life with one another.  Capax Dei became such a part of my weekly cadence that I would go regardless of any exams the next day (my grades never suffered because of this). I’m very grateful for the time at Professor Chapman’s house. Having a group that was authentic and talked about what is actually going on was a true highlight of my time at college. 

Favorite Aspect of Westmont: Learning. These areas would include my career, academics, faith, myself, etc. In action, this included: discussions with my peers, having lunch with professors, seeking mentorship and guidance from wise advisors, reading in addition to my coursework, on the job training, and solitude for introspective reflection and pondering.

Favorite Westmont memory: Living in Italy for four and a half months was a great learning and stretching opportunity. I was studying upper division art well out of my comfort zone as an economics & business student. This further taught me to trust the process of taking it one day at a time. I wanted to learn from the renaissance minded folks and copy their methodologies within all aspects of my life. One of my favorites is the story of the David by Michelangelo. People in Italy saw a terrible piece of stone and we're going to throw it out, but Michelangelo saw the potential of what the stone could be. It is through the process and often longer time horizons than one realizes that incredible feats can be achieved. As a part of my routine, I also stopped by the local store owners. I bought pears at the same fruit stand, espresso at the same spot, and always swung by to visit the local cobbler. Cobblers still exist! This cobblers name was Federico Badia and he is one of the kindest and jolliest human beings I’ve had the pleasure of calling my friend. I am still in contact with Fede, and I enjoyed learning what he views as a simple life and how he prays.I don’t want to neglect the pasta and wine in Italy. Helping a family winery during the harvest season was so much fun and gave new meaning to John 15. 

Why do you work at Westmont? I got recruited to work at the college, so Westmont found me. I believe any not-for-profit can be run as efficiently as the best private sector companies. If this occurs, the organization can actually further achieve its mission. If it doesn’t operate with the same level of urgency and intentions, the organization is not fulfilling its mission to the fullest extent it could and therefore isn’t that focused on its reason for existence. I am excited to bring this intentionality with me every day to work.

Hobbies: I enjoy watching a great movie, cooking with friends, sleeping in on the weekends, working out, reading, and going to the beach. I just learned golf and played my first 9-holes with my grandfather’s club. I just started taking graduate classes at Harvard University through their extension school (it’s not a hobby, but a loss of hobby time for a while).