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Black Hawk College student Damon Thompson of East Moline is an inaugural recipient of the Chime Workforce Scholarship.
Thompson – a cybersecurity major – is one of only 200 students nationwide to receive the new $1,000 scholarship from the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation.
Chime Workforce Scholars are selected based on outstanding academic achievement, engagement, leadership potential and career readiness.
The scholarship recognizes high-achieving college students who are pursuing career and technical educational opportunities in a certificate or associate degree workforce development program at a two-year college.
Thompson dropped out of high school and earned his GED® through Black Hawk College in 2018.
“I’ve definitely turned my life around, from doing not good in high school to deciding to go to college later in life and doing so well I can be in Phi Theta Kappa honor society,” he said.
Thompson said he is studying cybersecurity because he’s always had an interest in computers and the field “has an exponentially high projected growth rate over the next few years.
“I would like to … start a lifelong career with my degree and certifications at Black Hawk so that I can afford to live my life comfortably in a field I’m passionate about,” he said.