Riley Stewart was hoping it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke when she saw the email flash across the screen.
Stewart, a sophomore nuclear engineering major at the University of Tennessee, had applied for a Department of Defense SMART Scholarship. She expected to find out if she had received the scholarship in early April. To her great relief, the April 1, email wasn’t a hoax. It was a potentially life-changing award.
The SMART Scholarship-for-Service program is a combined educational and workforce development opportunity for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students pursuing a STEM degree. All scholarship recipients receive full tuition, annual stipends ranging from $30,000–$46,000, internships, and guaranteed civilian employment with the DoD after graduation.
Stewart was given a three-year scholarship with a stipend of $30,000 to help fund the remainder of her undergraduate degree and a master’s degree. Upon completing her master’s degree, Stewart will be working for at least three years at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) in Honolulu, Hawaii.
“I honestly shed a couple tears,” Stewart said. “I immediately called my parents. I was just pretty much speechless. I know I’m qualified for it, but I wasn’t sure if I would actually get it. It’s amazing.”
Vol’s SMART Tradition
UT has produced 19 SMART scholarship winners over the last 10 years, including the last four. The rate of students awarded a scholarship in 2024 was nine percent with an average GPA of 3.73.
Stewart’s scholarship will alleviate a major financial stress. The Pylesville, Maryland native has taken out student loans to pay for her college tuition. She works three jobs at UT (undergraduate teaching assistant, an engineering mechanics tutor, TCE ambassador) and has a summer job at a Chinese restaurant at home to help pay for her education.
“It is a huge weight lifted off my chest,” said Stewart, who has four brothers. “College is very expensive these days, and student loans are too. I have about $30,000 in student loans right now. I am very relieved I now have help to afford it all.”
Stewart first learned about the SMART scholarship program from her AP physics teacher, Christine Jestel, at North Harford High.
“She told me to apply for this as soon as I was eligible,” Stewart said. “Once I got to college and figured out my niche in nuclear, I was ready to apply. I reached out to her as soon as I found out I got the scholarship and told her it was because of you that I got it. I am forever grateful.”
DoD Career Path
SMART is a one-for-one commitment; for every year of degree funding, the student commits to working for a year with the DoD as a civilian employee. To prepare for her future full-time job that begins in 2028, Stewart will be interning at the PHNSY & IMF in the summers of 2026 and 2027.
The SMART program’s mission is to recruit, educate, employ, and foster of the development of the future DoD civilian STEM workforce through scholarships and lasting partnerships with academic institutions, STEM education ecosystems, and DoD laboratories and agencies.
Stewart was originally a biomedical engineering major at UT but switched to nuclear to combine her interest in medicine and the military.
“I want to focus more on the radiological side of things. That’s what I plan on concentrating in for my masters—radiation detection and protection,” she said. “I found my home in nuclear, and I love the people. The professors here are amazing.”
Stewart has been overwhelmed by all the congratulatory messages she’s received and is eager to help the next UT student get a SMART scholarship to continue the tradition.
“I’ve been telling people they should apply,” she said. “I’m directing people to the website because of how great of an opportunity this is for everyone who is qualified.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)