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Brett Matthews, a Mechanical Engineering student at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., has been selected for the highly competitive U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NUPOC) program.
Matthews went through a rigorous selection process, including oral exams on technical areas and an interview with Admiral Kirkland H. Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion in Washington, D.C. Matthews was selected for the NUPOC program in April. The NUPOC program provides candidates the active duty benefits of a U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class –with full salary and benefits – while completing their undergraduate degrees as full-time students. Now with the assistance of the NUPOC program he can concentrate entirely on academics. Matthews is currently in his junior year at Gonzaga.
The NUPOC program is a highly selective program for students who desire to work for the Navy after college. It pays student candidates up to 30 months to finish school. The program accepts applications from any major as long as the applicant has one year of calculus and calculus based physics.
Upon completing his undergraduate degree, Matthews will enter Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, R.I., and then the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School in Charleston, S.C. After the training, he will serve as a nuclear trained officer on board a nuclear aircraft carrier, a nuclear submarine or as a naval reactors engineer in Washington D.C.
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