Maynard L. Thompson

BOTTINEAU – The Dakota College at Bottineau Foundation has announced a monumental gift from alumnus Maynard L. Thompson, whose journey began on the campus of the former North Dakota School of Forestry nearly 70 years ago.

Thompson graduated in 1957 with a pre-engineering degree, a path he says was shaped almost entirely by the caring faculty who guided him during his earliest days as a college student. Honoring the spirit of caring and giving he received as a pre-engineering student at Bottineau, he has established the Maynard L. Thompson Scholarship Endowment, which will support students just like him for generations to come, according to foundation information.

The information stated Thompson arrived on campus with uncertainty about what he wanted to study. The first person he met was engineering instructor Peter Wold Jr. When Wold asked which program he planned to pursue, Thompson answered honestly: “I don’t know.” Without hesitation, Wold replied, “How about pre-engineering?” That moment, as Thompson remembers fondly, set the trajectory for the rest of his life.

After graduating from the School of Forestry, Thompson continued his education at North Dakota State University, earning a mechanical engineering degree. He went on to work for General Electric and later joined Honeywell, where he built a distinguished career in development design engineering, management and, ultimately, as an engineering executive. His professional accomplishments include receiving Honeywell’s prestigious HW Sweatt Award and earning 15 patents, one of which remains in production more than four decades later.

Thompson has never forgotten what it felt like to start college with very limited means. He also credits his time at Bottineau as his foundation for his life and career. Those memories are what inspired his recent gift to Dakota College at Bottineau — an endowed scholarship dedicated to supporting sophomore students in pre-engineering and science-related/health programs who share similar beginnings and aspirations.

“I’m thankful I can help students who are like I once was,” Thompson said. “I hope this will inspire others to do well in school so someday they will be able to give back too.”

“It has truly been a pleasure working with Mr. Thompson to fulfill his goal of creating an endowment scholarship with a focus on supporting pre-engineering students like himself,” Dakota College at Bottineau Foundation Director Tina Webb said. “We are incredibly grateful for Mr. Thompson’s very generous gift and the legacy it will provide for generations of students.”