IUP graduate shares his story: Addiction, resilience, redemption

Vincent Thompson’s (graduate student, mathematics) road to success was a long and troubled one.

Thompson, currently studying at Rice University, was a model student during his time at IUP and attained a master’s degree in applied mathematics as well as a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in physics.

Thompson grew up with his mother, stepdad, brother and sister. He primarily lived in Homer City, Pa., but he moved around the state a lot during his time in the foster care system and various group homes.

He credits his mother with being a positive role model in his life.

“I think my mom was probably my biggest role model as a kid because she ended up going back to school when I was in high school,” Thompson said. “It gave me a lot of things that I could learn and say ‘oh, if she can do it, I can do it.’”

Thompson began struggling with addiction around age 15.

“One time I drank way too much, and I ended up getting frostbite,” Thompson said. “I was in a burn unit for a while and whenever they sent me home, they sent me home with Percocet.”

Thompson enjoyed how the drug made him feel, and he had easy access to it. He started to take the drug more often.

His Percocet addiction was the primary reason that he spent time in group homes during this time in his life. This eventually led him to try heroin when he was 19 years old.

“All of my friends were getting hooked on [heroin],” Thompson said. “I was actually trying to help a friend not use it, and somehow she dragged me into getting some and we split it.

“There were no restrictions on me because I was now an adult and I now had complete freedom over my life, and I really used that in a bad way.”

Thompson said that addiction is fast acting and catches one off guard.

“It’s really crazy how fast acting it is,” Thompson said. “You don’t notice that you’re not making sense; that you’re not making rational choices.”

For the next few years, Thompson’s life spiraled out of control as he waded deeper into addiction. “It was a pretty disastrous breakdown in morals,” he said. “I think that heroin addiction really robs people of their morality, and what they do during that time is not a reflection of who they are or who they want to be.

“It ruined every relationship that I had at the time. Nobody trusted me and nobody wanted me around.”

At times, Thompson resorted to extreme measures to ensure that he could obtain more heroin.

“With the breakdown in morality comes the willingness to do things that you wouldn’t normally have done and that gets pushed to the limit,” Thompson said. “If you have an opportunity then you’ll take it because it’s really all about finding a way to get the drug and with that comes finding a way to get the money.

“I think addiction gets to a point where you know you want to stop all the time and you know that every day is just getting worse, and you’re just unable to make that change in yourself.”

Thompson said that heroin affects the way you think and feel in such a significant way that it makes quitting incredibly difficult.

“It affects the way that you think so strongly,” he added. “It gets to the point where you’re dope sick every day and you know that you hate this and you want to stop.”

Thompson went to rehab on several occasions to try and stop his drug use, but this proved to be unsuccessful for him. He was so far into his addiction that he was unable to see a way out of it.

Thompson’s life changed when he was arrested outside of a bar in Allentown, Pa.

The legal proceedings ended with a sentence of two to five years in jail. After an altercation with his cellmate, Thompson was put into solitary confinement.

“I ended up being in solitary confinement for almost a year,” Thompson said.

His time in solitary confinement was the catalyst for him getting clean.

“I had to be totally alone with my thoughts and having to come to terms with all of the things that I had done,” Thompson said. “I really had to come to terms with who I want to be and who I’m actively being, and then to eliminate the things that I didn’t want and keep the things that I did.”

Despite its inherent downsides, Thompson said that solitary confinement was what he needed at the time.

“I don’t know if you can really confront those things if you’re not forced to do it alone,” he said. “I’m not sure how it would have gone if I wasn’t forced to have done it alone.”

When he got out, Thompson continued his road to recovery. He had a lot of help from those close to him along the way.

“My mom welcomed me back with open arms,” he said.

Thompson expressed his desire to go to college with her, but his mom implored him to wait a while and make some money first. Thompson mowed lawns and waited tables during this time.

Thompson also spent a lot of time with his son.

“I missed a lot of time with my son,” Thompson said. “It was really nice to have that relationship after all those years because I was there when he was a baby and then I quickly lost myself in addiction.”

Thompson said having to watch his son grow up from afar was incredibly difficult.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to go to college was to set an example for him,” he added.

Thompson also credits several friends that he spent a lot of time with that helped keep him out of trouble. He said that nearly every aspect of his life has improved since he got clean.

“So many things are better than addiction,” Thompson said.

Thompson was able to create new relationships and rebuild the ones that he already had.

His work ethic improved though he did not always enjoy the work that he was doing. This disdain for that type of work was a big motivator for Thompson to want to go to college.

Shortly after he got out of prison, Thompson attended Westmoreland County Community College for a year and acquired some prerequisite credits. Eventually, Thompson chose to attend IUP, but it was not his first choice.

He applied to Penn State, the University of West Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Pittsburgh.

“I applied to a lot of different schools, and nobody else would have me, so I was kind of pushed into IUP because they have a reputation of having a high enrollment rate,” Thompson said. “IUP gave me a chance, and IUP has a record of doing that for people, giving them a chance and letting them choose their destiny as opposed to choosing it for them.”

Thompson studied math and physics during his time at IUP. He had a previous interest and skill in math that only grew during his time in prison.

Thompson’s passion for mathematics is evident.

“There’s an inherent beauty in the proofs and in what you’re able to prove with math,” he said.

Thompson said he learned a lot about himself during his time at IUP.

“I learned that I’m more capable than I thought,” Thompson said. “I learned that if you work hard people will notice.”

Thompson credits several IUP professors with helping him on his path to success.

“Dr. [Rick] Atkins, Dr. [Tim] Flowers and Dr. [Francisco] Alarcon were definitely huge supports,” Thompson said. “I enjoyed every class that I took with them, and they’re the ones who taught me all of my upper-level mathematics.

“I really couldn’t say enough good things about any of them.”

Thompson said the guidance and wisdom of Dr. Gregory Kenning (physics), Dr. Alfred Dahma (mathematics) and Dr. Mike Chrispell (mathematics) were all very beneficial to him during his early years at the university.

“I think professors at IUP are exactly the type of professors who should be at IUP,” Thompson said. “They always have time for students and they’re willing to set aside time of their own.”

Thompson completed his undergraduate degree, a bachelor’s degree in math with a minor in physics, in the fall of 2020. He also earned a master’s degree in applied mathematics in the spring of 2021. He maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the duration of his time at the university.

Thompson was the secretary of the IUP mathematics club, the president of the IUP chapter of the Society of Physics Students and was the president of the IUP Physics Club.

Thompson was a National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate research fellow, a recipient of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, an Undergraduate Student Opportunities in Academic Research (U-SOAR) summer fellow, a Scholarships-Creating Opportunities for Applying Mathematics (S-COAM) scholar, a Sigma Alpha Pi National Society of Leadership and Success inductee, and a Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society inductee.

Thompson was also awarded numerous scholarships by IUP.

He completed research projects in both math and physics with Kenning and Alarcon, and his research was published on numerous occasions.

Thompson has spoken to kids at various group homes that he once stayed at.

“I think it’s important because those are people that I can identify with, and I think it’s important that when you have someone speak to those people, they’re not talking down to them,” Thompson said.

Thompson added that he can relate to them because he knows the situation that they are in because he was once in that situation himself.

“I want other people to get better and I don’t want people to think that they can’t do something,” Thompson said.

Thompson continued that he wants to show people that they can still succeed and redeem themselves no matter where they are currently and no matter what they have done.

“I feel like I have developed tools that are helpful to me,” he said, “and I feel like I can give them to people who relate to my experience.”

After he earned his master’s degree from IUP, Thompson began a five-year doctoral program at Rice University in Texas.

So far, the workload has been very different than that of an undergraduate degree.

“It’s a different ballgame,” he said.

Thompson speaks highly of his experience with peers and professors at the university so far. He chose to pursue his doctorate to attain his career goals.

“With a Ph. D in math, you can pursue research and ask new questions [about math],” Thompson said. “You’ll be able to help build a new generation of people doing the same thing.

“I want to teach at the graduate level.”

Thompson also expressed an interest in being able to learn with students and not just teach them new things. His passion for math has led him to a desire to teach, research and learn as much as he can about the topic.

He is slated to finish his doctorate in 2026.

Thompson’s story is one of struggle and redemption. It proves that no matter what one has been through, change is possible and the opportunity for great success and achievement is there.

Thompson said that he would like to thank his mom, his girlfriend, Maria, and his son for always supporting him.