SMART Scholars ‘get schooled’ on AFTAC

  • Published
  • By Susan A. Romano
  • AFTAC Public Affairs
PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. --  In an effort to expose college students to one of the most dynamic and unique missions in the U.S. Air Force, members of the Air Force Technical Applications Center welcomed five university scholars to their campus June 26.
 
The students were part of the U.S. Air Force’s SMART Scholar Program that annually awards full-tuition, merit-based scholarships to hundreds of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral candidates who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.
 
SMART, which stands for science, math and research for transformation, is a comprehensive career development program that offers personalized mentorship and a network of Defense Department professionals to students who are attending an accredited college or university within the United States.
 
“Some of the main goals of the program are to recruit, educate, employ, and foster future DOD civilians,” said Tammy McKone, AFTAC’s Deputy Director of Manpower & Personnel.  “It serves as a pathway to create a technically proficient and innovative talent pool we need to maintain our technical edge to meet U.S. national security needs.”
 
AFTAC is the Department of Defense’s sole nuclear surveillance organization charged with monitoring nuclear treaties worldwide, while also managing the Air Force’s largest multi-domain sensor network.  With such profound and mission-critical responsibilities, the center is consistently ‘on the hunt’ to employ the best and brightest STEM minds to execute their tasked priorities.
 
“SMART is more than a scholarship – it's a comprehensive career development program,” said Christopher Parrish, Director of Manpower & Personnel.  “Beyond full-tuition STEM scholarships, the SMART program offers summer internships, hands-on research opportunities, and guaranteed civilian employment with the Defense Department upon graduation. With personalized mentorship and a network of highly trained DOD professionals, SMART scholars are equipped with the skills and experience to excel in their respective fields and become future leaders in national defense.”
 
Once a student’s application is accepted, the scholars are teamed up with scientists and engineers to help prepare them for full-time employment that ultimately leads to guaranteed employment with a federal agency.  The student commits to a service agreement with the DOD as a civilian employee post-graduation.
 
Benjamin Lynch, a computer science undergraduate at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, was one of the five students who visited AFTAC in July.
 
“I learned about the SMART program by chance,” he said.  “One of my professors gave us a list of articles on STEM topics and told us to write a paper about them.  I ended up going down a rabbit hole of links and fell upon the SMART Scholar website.  It’s ironic because I was in the Air Force for four years as a fire protection specialist, but I had never heard of this program.  AFTAC is definitely on the top of my list of places I’d like to work when I graduate.  The mission is so exciting, and you can beat the location!”
 
To be considered for the program, students must be U.S. citizens, 18 years or older with a minimum 3.0 grade point average, and able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
 
Launched in 2005, the SMART Scholar Program is the largest education-to-workforce initiative offered by DOD to address talent development and retention.  Since AFTAC began participating in the program in 2016, the center has hired 16 scholars with degrees in chemistry, physics, chemical engineering, computer science, and geoscience.
 
“There are so many aspects of SMART that I have found so appealing,” said Jackson Neering, a freshman at Florida Tech majoring in computer science.  “The job market right now is so incredibly competitive, and it’s tough to find positions that offer good benefits, job security, and are also interesting places to work.  Everything I’ve seen and heard during our visit here has been so intriguing, and I know the people here at AFTAC are involved in a lot of the things we’ve seen on the news lately in very impactful ways.”
 
While the center would like to bring all eligible interns on board as full-time employees immediately, they are obligated to adhere to the January 2025 presidential executive order that places a moratorium on filling civilian positions.
 
“We’ve had to delay onboarding some candidates due to the temporary hiring freeze,” said McKone.  “But we’ve been working closely with the executives from the SMART Program and experts at the Air Force Personnel Center to on-board our scholars who are ready for placement as quickly as possible so we don’t lose the graduates to other non-federal companies.”
 
Despite the moratorium, the program continues to offer hands-on research experiences, exceptional mentorship opportunities, significant financial assistance, and guaranteed employment.  AFTAC leadership understands the importance of programs like SMART to ensure their employees possess the highest qualifications to operationalize science and technology to advance mission objectives and leverage cutting-edge science for global security.
 
“AFTAC is a hub of innovation,” said Parrish.  “Our workforce is responsible for solving our nation’s most complex challenges by developing the next generation of defense technologies.  This program
helps us gain highly educated, skilled and motivated employees who bring new ideas and viewpoints to the forefront, ultimately sparking ideas and innovations that align with our organizational goals.  These interns are destined to be our future leaders.”
 
Applications are accepted from August to December.  For more info on how to become a SMART scholar, visit https://www.smartscholarship.org.