Jessie Uncapher has always known she wanted to go to college, but hasn’t always known how to afford it. This was before she applied for the Thompson Working Families Scholarship Program.  

The Thompson Scholarship is one of BGSU’s highest awarding scholarships, giving out $6.6 million in the last semester alone. Uncapher is a part of the “traditional” cohort and was awarded the scholarship before starting college.  

“We [incoming freshman] got an email, which still was the most exciting email I’ve ever opened…I was in band class, and I stepped outside and called my mom to tell her, ‘Hey I can go to college,’” Uncapher said. 

According to data from the assistant director, Kristin Payne, Uncapher is one of 1144 students in the scholarship program. Uncapher depends on the scholarship to pursue her degree in early childhood education.   

“I knew I could not afford college on my own and the Thompson Scholarship program offered the largest sum that would allow me to attend college,” Uncapher said.  

The program exists for “high-achieving students” who are in need of financial assistance. 

The scholarship requires students to maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher, maintain continuous full-time enrollment, attend one-on-one meetings with their scholarship advisor and more. 

Payne said the program stems from Ellen and Bob Thompson’s generosity and their dedication toward making college affordable.  

“This scholarship is for students with financial need, high academic achievement and a desire to continue the Thompson legacy by completing service,” Payne said. 

Uncapher said the requirements needed to keep her scholarship are easy to manage. 

“There are plenty of opportunities on campus and off campus to do service hours. I’ve done stuff with the Leadership Institute, I’ve done stuff with the BGSU Twirlers,” Uncapher said. 

“It’s completely manageable even with juggling (the) marching band… There’s plenty of opportunities (to get them).” 

Each Thompson scholar gets up to $11,000 for every “traditional” academic year they attend BGSU. The “traditional” cohort gets the scholarship for all four years, whereas the “achiever” cohort applies to the scholarship their first-year at BGSU and gets the scholarship for three years.

 This scholarship covers more than half of tuition. The rest of the scholarship can be matched with other scholarships like the University Freshman Academic Scholarship. 

The Thompson Scholarship started in 2014 and was expanded in 2019 to financially support thousands of students.  

Allyson Jones, a freshman communication major, was recently awarded the Thompson Scholarship. She talked about how she was feeling before, during and after the ceremony was done.  

“Before the ceremony I was very confused because I had no idea what was happening, it didn’t really register in my head that this could’ve been what it was for. I came to the event with my two friends who also received emails and they had speculations that it may be for the scholarship,” Jones said.

 “As soon as everyone opened their envelopes, you could feel the happiness and the relief enter the room…After the ceremony, I was on cloud nine and so extremely proud of myself and everyone around me.”

Jones expressed her excitement in a text and a photo with President Rodney Roger when she told her parents and sister that she was a Thomspon scholar. 

“I applied for many reasons, but the main reason I applied was to show my parents how much I appreciated their encouragement for college… Receiving this gift will help me and my family financially pay for my tuition, and allow us to save money for my younger sister to attend the college she desires,” Jones said.  

Having this scholarship helps relieve the stress of wondering if students can go to college or not.  

“This scholarship helps me academically, financially, and emotionally. It is such a relief to know that I am going to be able to spend the next four years here at BGSU and study what I have wanted to since I was young,” Jones said.  

Payne, Uncapher and Jones all expressed gratitude to Ellen and Robert Thompson, the founders of the Thompson scholarship, for their kindness. 

To get involved in the Thompson Scholarship, students can search for Thompson Scholarship Programs and sign up.