By Jane Keller Gordon, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury’s Dave Thompson, a former active-duty Marine, now wears many hats: father and husband, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) webmaster, and – thanks to the GI Bill – scholar.
At Clark University’s graduation May 22, he combined his scholar’s hat with a gown, when he was awarded a Master of Science in information technology. His three younger children, ages 7, 4 and 6 months, his wife Julianne and her parents were there to cheer him on.
He was also a recipient of the School of Professional Studies Dean’s Award, given to the graduate student with the highest grade point average.
“Dave is a wonderful role model of hard work, perseverance, high achievement and continued learning,” Jane Salerno, Clark’s director of media relations, said.
Added John Chetro-Szivos, associate dean of Professional Studies and Online Education at Clark’s School of Professional Studies: “When I met David I was impressed with his maturity and professionalism and it didn’t surprise me to learn he accomplished our highest academic honor. David’s perseverance and diligence embody the core values of the School of Professional Studies at Clark University and I am confident he is prepared to launch a great career.”
At Clark, Thompson said, with enthusiasm, that he had access to his professors, and even those with whom he did not take a class. For his final project, he worked with four other graduate students to develop a cyber-bullying curriculum for the Shrewsbury school system. Thompson had taken several classes at Clark on cyber-security.
Thompson’s path from his childhood in Baltimore, Md., to Clark University took many turns along the way. After high school, he spent a semester at Baltimore’s Goucher College, where he said, “I wasn’t ready for school.”
Afterward, he worked some part time jobs, and then joined the Marines. He became a dad about that time, to a daughter, who is now 17 and resides in Baltimore.
Throughout his 11 years of active duty in the Marines, including three enlistments, Thompson earned awards and recognition. He was posted in Okinawa, Japan, and in many parts of this country. Thompson first specialized in supply administration, and then moved onto financial management. In his last enlistment, he was in an inspector/instructor at Fort Devens in Ayer, working with Marine’s reserve units.
“This was a fairly calm period, so I started taking classes at Mount Wachusett Community College in 2006,” he recalled.
After earning his associate’s degree in business administration with highest honors, he moved on to part-time studies at Worcester State College. In 2009, he earned a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration from Worcester State, magna cum laude.
Thompson ended his Marine Corps service in 2009, and entered into a full-time master’s of science in taxation program at Bentley University with the help of his military benefits.
He then became a revenue agent with the IRS Large Business and International (LBI) Division. Now, seven years later, he has just been promoted from senior web analyst to webmaster.
“I am in charge of all digital content and related policies throughout the [LBI] division,” he said.
Thompson has generously donated his expertise as webmaster to the Spirit of Shrewsbury, and volunteers with Toys for Tots.
When asked whether he plans to continue his schooling, Thompson said, “I’ve pretty much been in school for the past decade. I definitely need a break for a while. I’ve expressed an interest in teaching at Clark at some point.”