John Gins chose to attend Wright State University after being invited to become a teaching assistant. While he was originally on track to pursue a graduate degree in statistics, he ended up studying math. It was a decision that would pay off for Gins in the years to come.
After receiving his master’s degree in mathematics from Wright State in 1973, Gins and his wife, Margie, moved to Los Angeles, where Gins spent the majority of his career in statistics and computer science. Gins worked in seven different industries, from health care to retail, and for 10 different companies, ranging in size from 10 to 100,000 employees.
“My career allowed me to develop groundbreaking programs and to be a pioneer in data mining,” said Gins. “I am very grateful for the educational opportunities and challenges and the teachers and institutions that made them possible.”
When Margie passed away eight years ago, Gins inherited her estate mostly in the form of IRAs. “Since my children were in their thirties and successfully pursuing their own careers, I needed to figure out how to give back,” he explained. “I wanted this to be in education since we both valued ours.”
Gins reached out to Wright State and discovered that he could utilize money from an IRA to set up a scholarship. The John D. Gins Scholarship Fund was established to help students in the STEMM fields who have enrolled at Wright State at least five years after their high school graduation. A non-traditional student himself, Gins served in the Marine Corps for four years before entering college.
While Gins still resides in California, he has seen firsthand the tremendous growth at his alma mater. “My new wife, Cheryl, and I visited the campus two years ago,” he said. “I was pleased to see that even though the number of buildings had increased, the environment was still very welcoming.”
