When University of Cincinnati freshman Brad Theilman was in third grade, he came across a problem that his mother, Regina, sought outside help to solve. A member of the Mensa International Honor Society since he was five years old (the IQs of members are in the top two percent of the world’s population), the third-grader was stuck and getting frustrated with trying to figure out how a computer worked.

His mom’s success in finding Brad a young mentor led to his first brush with UC’s College of Engineering, now part of the College of Engineering & Applied Science (CEAS). Nowadays, Brad is a student at CEAS, majoring in biomedical engineering. He is also one of seven UC freshmen to be awarded a full $80,000 Cincinnatus scholarship to pay for tuition, room and board, books and fees. 

Brad’s computer quandary led his mom to a local software company where she asked if someone would be willing to volunteer their time to help her young son. The only engineer at the firm was Josh Marotti, who graduated with a BS in computer engineering from UC’s College of Engineering in 2000.

Now living in Anderson and working as a managing consultant, Josh, a father of three, says he admired Regina Theilman’s determination to pursue opportunities and challenges for her son. “In third grade, it was obvious that he was very bright,” Josh says.

“I learned a lot from him,” Brad says, as he remembers his time with his mentor. “He would come by once a week and we would meet for a couple of hours and he would teach me things.”

Brad says he’s now very excited about exploring the opportunities in the field of biomedical engineering, but still plans to one day accomplish his lifetime goal of becoming an astronaut. Because Cincinnatus also recognizes the university’s commitment to service, Brad will perform 30 hours of community service a year as part of his scholarship commitment.