UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Sydney Vachino, a rising second-year Schreyer Honors Scholar studying cybersecurity analytics and operations in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, has been awarded a Department of Defense Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship.
The scholarship-for-service award provides students with full tuition for up to five years, mentorship, summer internships, a stipend and full-time employment with the Department of Defense after graduation. SMART scholars gain hands-on experience at one of more than 200 innovative laboratories across the Army, Navy, Air Force and larger Department of Defense. Vachino will be sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C., where she will complete summer internships in 2023 and 2024 and work full time for at least three years after she earns her degree.
“The SMART scholarship is a very prestigious award, and I am grateful to have not only been considered for it as a semifinalist, but chosen as a finalist as well,” said Vachino. “My application was up against undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students, so I am very proud of myself for having received this award with only one year of college experience. Being notified I was a recipient was the sign that the work I had done in high school and college really paid off.”
The award not only recognizes Vachino’s academic achievements, but also carries personal significance. Vachino’s lifelong desire to serve her country has driven most of her academic decisions; however, a 2017 spinal fusion surgery to correct severe scoliosis caused her to seek alternative ways to serve that didn’t require being physically active on the field.
“Following my surgery, I became heavily passionate about programming and computer science and chose to study cybersecurity analytics and operations,” she said. “When I learned about the SMART scholarship-for-service program, I had no doubt that it was a program that I’d like to pursue, being that it would allow me to use my passion for technology to serve in a different way.”
The SMART scholarship program is one of many DoD initiatives to provide authentic STEM learning experiences and train a highly skilled workforce for the science and technology industry. The DoD is the country’s largest employer of federal scientists and engineers with nearly 150,000 civilian STEM employees working across the department.
“I’m looking forward to gaining a unique on-the-job experience that I would not necessarily be exposed to in the classroom, while also knowing that I am making a difference in the technology industry with the work that I will do with the DoD,” said Vachino. “Very few first-year students can say they have a guaranteed job after graduation, so I am incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity."