Dungo Digital × DoD SMART Scholarship
/smart
Full-ride DoD SMART Scholar. Incoming doctoral student in Information Technology. First-generation student from Uvalde, TX — at the intersection of academia, industry, and government. This is the full story, the degree plan, and the live countdown to day one.
💼 See this on LinkedIn →Mission Status Report
First class: July 13, 2026
What is the SMART Scholarship?
The DoD Science, Mathematics, And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service program is one of the most competitive STEM funding programs in the country. It pays 100% of tuition, provides a $30,000–$46,000 annual cash stipend, covers health insurance, and guarantees civilian DoD employment after graduation.
In exchange: for every year funded, you commit to a year of service as a civilian DoD employee. No loans. No job search panic. A direct pipeline from student desk to mission-critical engineer.
100% covered at any U.S. accredited institution
$30,000–$46,000 depending on degree level
Civilian DoD employment on graduation day
Application window: Aug 1 → first Friday in December, annually. smartscholarship.org →
The Origin — Spring 2019
I found out about SMART the same way most first-gen students find anything: by accident, scraping the bottom of the internet for college funding with 30 days left in the application window. No coding clubs in high school. No counselor whispering about defense contracts. Just a community college student who needed a way through.
Spring 2019. I'm sitting in my last programming class for my Associate's degree when my phone buzzes. Unknown number. Area code (210) — San Antonio. I had listed California, New York, Colorado on the application. Anywhere but South Texas.
She didn't ask me to reverse a binary tree. She asked: “Have you ever heard of San Antonio?” I lied. “Oh yeah. Absolutely. Love it.”
“You aren't winning a contest. You are being chosen.”
— How SMART actually works
The award email arrived in April 2019. I cried — not a cute single tear. When you go from “not sure how I'm paying for next semester” to “100% funded, guaranteed career, health insurance” in one email, that changes how you move. I have been at JBSA ever since. That woman on the phone is still my boss. She left a Christmas card on my desk last week.
Round Two — Doctoral Award (April 1, 2026)
December 2025. I submitted a second SMART application — this time for a Doctorate of Information Technology at Capella University. Same program that changed my life at 20. New mission, new stakes.
April 1, 2026: awarded. This time it wasn't a surprise phone call. It was confirmation of a plan six years in the making. The same program that paid for my Bachelor's and Master's is now funding the terminal degree. The contract renewed. The arc completed.
First generation. Two SMART awards. One doctorate incoming.
The Degree — Capella DIT
Doctorate of Information Technology, fully online. 13 courses + 2 virtual residencies + 1 integrated capstone. Research focus: applied AI, knowledge systems, and building the workforce pipeline connecting underserved communities to the tech industry.
Program: capella.edu/dit →
The Intersection — Academia × Industry × Government
Academia
- ▸Doctorate of Information Technology — Capella University
- ▸2× adjunct faculty (CS dept, Texas A&M San Antonio)
- ▸Capstone: applied AI, knowledge systems, workforce pipeline
- ▸Research artifacts published publicly via Techs in the City
Industry
- ▸Full-stack web (Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind)
- ▸AI/ML tooling — prompt engineering, voice pipelines, LLMs
- ▸DevSecOps, systems automation, sprint-based shipping
- ▸Open-source builds documented in public sprints
Government
- ▸DoD civilian engineer — JBSA, 4+ years
- ▸SMART Scholar: Bachelor's → Master's → now Doctoral
- ▸Mission-critical digital transformation and systems work
- ▸Security-first engineering mindset. Clearance holder.
Skills Snapshot
The full portfolio is building at /projects. This is the stack at the intersection.
Next.js · TypeScript · Tailwind
LLMs · Voice pipelines · D.U.N.G.O.
CI/CD · Security · Systems reliability
Analytics · Governance · Measurement
Gamified systems · CS curriculum design
DevSA · ACM-SA · GGS · Datanauts
Follow the Doctoral Journey
Every sprint, every course, every milestone — documented in public. The blog, the streams, the sprint board. If you're a student watching this unfold, this is the proof the pipeline can work. If you're a colleague or sponsor, this is the portfolio.