Tom was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri area and moved to Georgia in 2005 to pursue a degree in Medical Illustration. Upon graduating the University of West Georgia in 2009, he was accepted into the Medical Illustration Graduate Program at the Medical College of Georgia. Tom completed his Master program in 2012 and returned to the University of West Georgia, completing his BFA in Sculpture and began teaching art foundation and illustration courses during the fall of 2014.