First-generation college student. Goodnight Scholar. Ben Franklin Scholar. Greenhouse Scholar. Department of Computer Science Ambassador. Nonprofit Co-President. Dual major in Computer Science and Science, Technology and Society. Triple minor in Biological Sciences, Genetics and Mathematics. Fulbright UK Summer Institute participant. Engineer. Researcher. Writer. President. Speaker. Leader.

Madison Thompson has a vision for the future. She’s bright, personable, passionate, incredibly hardworking, and has created a path to success that most others can only dream of. 

But Thompson’s success is all the more impressive when considering her background. She grew up in an under-resourced area of Guilford County in a low-income, single-parent home. At 12, Thompson started a multi-city service-learning initiative to dismantle harmful stereotypes toward unhoused populations. At 13, she started a tutoring business. At 19, she helped found Students Leading Collaborative Computing Education (SLCCE), which brings CS and ECE education to under-resourced high schoolers. All this while attending school, working and playing softball. 

And all of that hard work has been paying off.

“When you’ve been working your entire life and then you get these scholarships, and the mentorship and support that comes with them, you realize, ‘oh, I don’t have to work anymore,’” said Thompson.

“In high school, I was working to help my mom, and also trying to go to class and figure out how to pay for college. But at NC State, I don’t have to do that. I can run my nonprofit and focus on research instead. I can have the resources to do the things I’m passionate about.”

Across the Pond

Through Goodnight, Thompson learned about and was encouraged to apply to the Fulbright UK Summer Institute. It’s a three to four week programme (British English) for U.S. undergraduate students who have little to no travel experience outside North America. Participants explore the culture, heritage and history of the U.K. while experiencing higher education at a U.K. university. She is one of just 42 students chosen each year across to participate in the program.

Thompson’s chosen program, King’s College London: ‘Modern Britain: Institutions, Power, & People,’ offers an in-depth understanding of how Britain’s institutions, power and people have shaped a 21st century nation. The program runs from June 28 to July 26.

“I want to be a better scientist,” said Thompson. “I want to study how institutions affect groups of people. I want to fight for equality, healthcare and freely accessible research. The best way to do that is to educate myself in a place where research is prioritized and healthcare is treated as a human right. Then I’ll bring what I’ve learned back home.”

Science, Soft Skills, Engineering and Ethics

Recently, there has been a push to include more ethics and humanities courses in STEM education, including at NC State, where engineering students are required to take a communication elective on top of the required General Education Program Courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary Perspectives and more. 

“If you are doing science without acknowledging the cultural and social context around the work that you’re doing, you’re probably not doing very good science,” said Thompson. “The technology we create, the research we do doesn’t just influence our present, it shapes our future. I think every engineer should be required to take more ethics classes, to develop soft skills and learn how to relate to others better.”

That sentiment is what drew Thompson to become a Computer Science Ambassador. The program is a key component of the department’s outreach efforts, from graduations to open houses and more. The program promotes leadership, networking and communication skills; in a sense, ambassadors are the face of the department. 

After the Fulbright UK Summer Institute, Thompson will head to Colorado for the Greenhouse Scholars Summer Symposium, where she’ll speak about SLCCE and the importance of supporting high school students from under-resourced areas.

After that, she’ll have a few short weeks off for travel and rest, then it’s back to NC State for her junior year. She plans to graduate a semester early, of course. All this begs the question: how does she keep up with everything?

“As long as I can get my runs in for exercise, eat my oats in the morning and have good coffee, I can recenter myself,” said Thompson. “I’m very passionate about everything I do – about science and engineering and my nonprofit in particular.

“But mostly, I’m passionate about being the role model I once needed. So, it’s not that hard.”