Esports leads to thousands in Tiffin scholarships for Marion Tech graduate

A Marion Tech student turned his talent in esports into more than just a conference championship in the video game " Valorant ."

Troy Thrush translated his talents into scholarship money when he transferred to Tiffin University to earn his bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity.

“You can get paid for esports! You can get paid to play video games,” Thrush said.

Thrush was recruited by the Tiffin esports team. They offered him a $3,000 esports scholarship on top of a $16,000 DragonNext scholarship for Marion Tech alumni who transfer to Tiffin. This cuts the cost of tuition in half for Thrush, who enters as a junior.

“It was surprising to get recruited for esports. I had a lot of offers from other schools, but none are as good as Tiffin’s,” Thrush said. “Now I’m going to get my bachelor’s for $40,000 cheaper. I’m excited. It will be a lot of fun.”

“It’s great to see our students succeed in matches and in life,” Marion Tech esports coordinator Hana Cornell said.

Thrush took college classes for free at Marion Technical College while in high school through the College Credit Plus program. He graduated from River Valley High School in 2022 and went to Marion Tech full-time.

“They were one of the only close colleges with an esports team, that made me consider it,” Thrush said.

Thrush majored in computer networking and cybersecurity. His love of IT led to him becoming the team captain for Marion Tech’s five-player "Valorant" team.

“I like managing a lot of people. I like them looking up to me. I like to just get it done. I kind of just fell into the role,” Thrush said.

“We were flawless in spring of ‘23 and then won our conference championship. That was probably the proudest moment,” Thrush recalled.

A college internship turned into a position as a computer repair technician at River Valley for Thrush. He also coached the high school esports team.

“I didn’t have any free time, but it was worth it. I needed the experience,” Thrush said.

Thrush is excited to start the semester at Tiffin and join their esports team.

“It’s a fully dedicated team. It’s four practices a week. It’s like a full-time job at that point. I’m excited to learn what they are all about,” Thrush said.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Esports leads to thousands in Tiffin scholarships for Marion Tech graduate