Bailey Holland, a senior at Samford University, recently became the first Samford student to ever receive the U.S. Department of Defense SMART Scholarship.
The SMART scholarship aims to provide aid to undergraduates, masters and doctoral students pursuing STEM degrees. According to the SMART scholarship website, the opportunities for students to “receive full tuition, annual stipends, internships, and guaranteed employment with the DoD [Department of Defense] after graduation.”
Holland is a computer science major with minors in bioinformatics and Spanish, and she has impressive post-graduate goals.
“I already have a plan. I have a job with the Missile Defense Agency up in Huntsville [Alabama],” Holland said.
The scholarship covers Holland’s entire tuition, and she can reapply if she chooses to enroll in higher education.
“After I start the job, I can reapply for the scholarship for graduate school and Ph.D. programs,” Holland said.
Holland hopes that further schooling is in her future.
“It seemed like an amazing opportunity. Especially to be offered a job right out of college. I really wanted to get into government work and so it worked out really well,” Holland said.
Holland is thrilled to receive this scholarship.
“It is a competitive scholarship, and I was excited I was able to get it.”
Throughout the application process, Holland has relied mostly on herself while also leaning on the support of her family and friends.
“I have been more self-motivational [with this process],” Holland said.
Holland proves that Samford University provides the necessary resources for its students to succeed academically and professionally.
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