Department of Defense

 A “Mentor” is an experienced individual who assists and guides another person’s development. A Program mentor is usually a senior member within the SSO who is a subject matter expert in the Participant’s field of study. A Participant’s mentor may coordinate internship logistics as well as assist the Participant in his/her educational and professio [..]

A "Participant" is an individual who has applied for, received, and accepted a SMART award. An individual is a Participant throughout the following phases: (1) academic phase, during which the Participant throughout the following phases: (2) post-graduation service phase, during which the Participant completes the post-graduation [..]

An "Academic Year" consists for the Fall through spring academic terms and is generally nine (9) months in length. An academic year does not include the summer term.