URI CyberCorps Scholars for Service will work for U.S. government

As part of the University of Rhode Island’s CyberSecurity Awareness Month, the Department of Computer Science and Statistics announces the 2022 CyberCorps Scholarship for Service recipients.  

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the scholarship provides selected students with tuition and fees for up to three years; a $25,000 stipend (undergraduate/academic year) or a $34,000 stipend (graduate/academic year); and up to $6,000 per year for textbooks and software, and for travel/registration costs for job fairs and conferences.  

The five recipients are Isabella Martinez of Warwick; Dylan Miles of New Canaan, Connecticut; Daniel Maiello of Scituate; Olufisayo Ayanfalu of Providence; and Ashley Lynn Rigano, of Cumberland.

Martinez and Maiello are pursuing the Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Cyber Security (CSABM); Miles, Ayanfalu, and Rigano are graduate students in the Professional Science Master’s Degree in Cyber Security program (PSM).

“This scholarship is a life changing path as it will prepare and gear me towards a successful career path and prepare me in helping the community,” said Ayanfalu. “Also during the years after I am done with the program, I know I will look back and say this scholarship was a key role in my life and my professional career.”

Miles said, “The University of Rhode Island’s SFS program leading to the Professional Science Master’s in Cyber Security will be an invaluable experience that will propel me to reach my long-term career goals with an incredible opportunity to continue my education and grow both personally and professionally while serving my country.”

“When I first heard about the scholarship, I thought it was way too good to be true. A scholarship that funds my education while actively supporting the advancement of my professional cyber career in the U.S. government was something I knew I had to be a part of,” said Martinez. “I am so thankful to the National Science Foundation and URI for offering me the tools and connections I need to start an amazing future for myself so that I can give back to the same people and country that helped me.”

Added Rigano: “I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn at the University of Rhode Island and start my career with the United States government. I was drawn to the field of cybersecurity because it requires a multidisciplinary approach when protecting cyber systems as many vulnerabilities stem from human behaviors and choices. This scholarship is a dream opportunity to achieve my academic goals, learn from experts in the field, and become a successful cybersecurity professional.”

As a condition of the scholarship, CyberCorps Scholars must work for a U.S. government agency job for a time equal to the time they received their scholarship (usually two years).

Funding to students is generally provided during the last two years of the CSABM program (senior year of the bachelor’s degree and the one year of the master’s degree program) or during the two years of the master’s degree program.  

For more information about the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service at the University of Rhode Island, please visit: https://web.uri.edu/cs/academics/cybercorps-scholarship-for-service/. Applications for the next cohort of students will open in early 2023.

Funding for this scholarship program is made possible through a $3.4 million federal grant from the National Science Foundation to the University of Rhode Island’s Computer Science and Statistics Department. Victor Fay-Wolfe, undergraduate chair, is the primary investigator for the grant and coordinator of the URI CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program.

Photo: The 2022 CyberCorps Scholarship for Service recipients are: front row, from left, Isabella Martinez, Daniel Maiello, and Ashley Lynn Rigano; back row, Olufisayo Ayanfalu, left, and Dylan Miles. (URI Photo by Nora Lewis)