Bousquet receives $10K Google scholarship

October 4, 2021

Keinen Bousquet, a DSU Computer Science student, is one of eight student veterans in the country awarded a $10,000 scholarship from Google/Student Veterans of America.

“These students have demonstrated a passion for technology, academic excellence, and have proven themselves as exceptional leaders and role models,” said the Google scholarship web page. The other seven scholarship winners are from schools such as Texas A&M, Rutgers, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Bousquet heard about the scholarship through the Student Veterans of America Club on campus.

“When I applied for it, I didn’t think I’d get it.” It was “pretty amazing” when he got the call that he was one of eight chosen in the nation.

The scholarship will give Bousquet and his family some financial flexibility.

“It takes some of the pressure off my wife as the primary source of income,” he said and allows him to focus on academics. The scholarship application process was easy, and definitely, worth it, he said, so he recommends students apply for scholarships.

He also encourages veteran students look into joining the veterans club on campus. Veterans who come to college after years of service have had different experiences than younger students. In the club, Bousquet has met a few really good friends, people he has things in common with.

“Meeting fellow students with the shared experience of the military opens up a whole new world.”

Bousquet enlisted in the Marines right after high school, and served as an airframes mechanic, mostly in California, but also in Japan and South Korea. Deployments are difficult with a family, so he began looking for options outside of the military when his service was over.

He had always liked computers and chose Dakota State for its programs, and location near their families. A DSU senior, he will graduate with his bachelor’s degree in May of 2022, and continue on through DSU’s 4+1 program to receive his master’s degree in computer science. After graduation, “there are some opportunities in Madison that would be amazing,” he said, such as a faculty position, or working at an agency through the Madison Cyber Labs.