CINCINNATI — Having the opportunity to go to college was only a dream for many African Americans a century ago. But now, more than ever, African Americans are graduating college, creating generations of scholars.

Every year, Austin Thompson attends Sticks for Kicks, a hands-on event that allows high school seniors to meet the requirements to earn their national healthcare certification.

As a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine student, Thompson said he enjoys encouraging the seniors to stay on track. 

“My goal is to not necessarily persuade someone to become a doctor or not,” said Thompson. “My goal is to allow the opening of possibilities as you can imagine.”

When Thompson isn’t encouraging aspiring healthcare professionals, he's usually at home studying alongside his younger brother, Evan. He also attends UC and is a third-year business analytics student who looks forward to graduating college next year.

“Our parents always instilled in us to keep the generation going and be better for each and every generation,” he said.

The Thompson brothers come from a line of college graduates. Their father is a CPA, their older brother is a dentist and their mother is a pharmacist.

“Growing up, our parents definitely instilled upon us education and the ability to garner our skills and asset that nobody can take care of you,” said Austin Thompson. 

A recent study done by the United States Census Bureau found that 27.8% of Black people 25 years and older earned a Bachelor's degree or better in 2020. While the numbers are higher for Black women over Black men, overall, it is a tremendous increase from 1940, when only 1% of Black people had completed four years of college.

Through his outreach toward younger students, Thompson hopes to grow that percentage even higher. 

“I make sure I spend time and I devote some of my time into showing Black and Brown kids who are younger than me that we’re out here and this is a career that’s viable for us,” said Thompson. 

After studying, Thompson likes to kick back and play video games with his brother. As he prepares to graduate from med school next year, he said he looks forward to building a family one day that values education just as much as he does.

“I definitely would encourage all of my kids, sometime down the road in the future, to continue the legacy and to continue to go to school,” he said.