Angelo State Engineering Student Picked for US DoD Program

SAN ANGELO, TX — Logan Drake of Schertz, a junior mechanical engineering major at Angelo State University, has been selected for the U.S. Department of Defense’s 2020 Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship-for-Service Program.

To be eligible for SMART, students must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in one of the 21 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields approved by the Department of Defense. Fewer than 20% of SMART applicants are selected each year, and Drake is the first ASU student to be chosen as a SMART Scholar. The average GPA of SMART Scholars is 3.7 on a 4.0 scale.

As a 2020 SMART Scholar, Drake will receive a scholarship for each of his remaining semesters at ASU, and he will also participate in annual summer internships with the 7th Mission Support Group at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas.

Upon completing his ASU Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (B.S.M.E.) degree in May 2022, Drake will be hired as a civilian engineer at Dyess AFB. He will owe one year of service to the Department of Defense for each of the two years he receives the SMART scholarship at ASU.

“We are very proud of Logan Drake for being selected for this prestigious and highly competitive program,” said Dr. William Kitch, chair of ASU’s David L. Hirschfeld Department of Engineering. “Logan is a member of our first cohort of mechanical engineering majors who will graduate in 2022, and he’s a great example of how Ramgineers lead the way!”

Also a member of the ASU Honors Program, Drake is currently attending ASU on a top-level Carr Distinguished Academic Scholarship. He has been inducted into the prestigious Alpha Chi and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies, and he is also president of the Rams Ultimate Frisbee Club.

Drake is also an ASU legacy. His mother, Kim Woodside Drake, earned her ASU business administration degree in 1992. His younger brother, Evan, is a senior in high school who will be attending ASU this fall.