Student Veterans of America and RTX Announce 2026 Patriot and SPY-6 Scholarship Recipients

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 3, 2026) – Student Veterans of America (SVA), in partnership with RTX, is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 RTX Patriot and SPY-6 Scholarships.

This year’s RTX Patriot Scholarships, supporting U.S. Army veterans, have been awarded to Mitchel Jackson and Tomas Diaz. The RTX SPY-6 Scholarships, supporting U.S. Navy veterans, have been awarded to Michael Johansson and Brian Wood. Each recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship to support their continued education.

Made possible through the generous support of RTX, these scholarships help veterans continue their education and prepare for what comes next. SVA is grateful for RTX’s continued investment in student veterans and the opportunities that investment creates.

This year’s recipients are pursuing different paths across logistics, operations, manufacturing, and related fields: from artificial intelligence and aerospace to organizational leadership and food safety. Their work reflects the wide range of ways student veterans are preparing to solve real-world challenges in these industries and build on the experience they gained through military service.

RTX Patriot Scholarship Recipients:

• Mitchel Jackson (Hood College | U.S. Army)
  U.S. Army veteran Mitchel Jackson is pursuing a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership, continuing a journey shaped by her commitment to service and meaningful change. Her experience in the food manufacturing industry has given her firsthand insight into how organizational culture and new technologies can influence food safety and the sustainability of food systems. Today, Mitchel’s doctoral research examines how leadership commitment and smart technology can strengthen food safety culture and organizational performance across the U.S. food manufacturing industry. She hopes to build on her Army experience and industry knowledge to help organizations become more resilient and sustainable.
• Tomas Diaz (University of La Verne | U.S. Army)
  U.S. Army veteran Tomas Diaz served as a Human Intelligence Collector, including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2010. Today, he is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration at the University of La Verne, continuing a professional and academic journey that has taken him from military service to business, aerospace, and higher education. Tomas plans to return to the aerospace and defense industry, where he hopes to apply what he is learning through his doctoral studies to real-world challenges in supply chain, program management, and business operations.

RTX SPY-6 Scholarship Recipients:

• Michael Johansson (Georgetown University | U.S. Navy)
  Michael Johansson served six years in the U.S. Navy maintaining critical systems aboard the SPY-1B-equipped Aegis cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG-56), followed by nearly a decade at the U.S. Department of State. Today, he continues his commitment to the military community as a part-time Pittsburgh Community Representative for Team Foster, helping raise funds to provide accredited service dogs to injured and disabled veterans. Michael is pursuing a master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence Management at Georgetown University, where he is focused on how emerging technologies can be deployed responsibly to improve public infrastructure and solve real-world operational challenges. Looking ahead, he hopes to manage high-impact modernization projects that apply artificial intelligence to municipal systems and sustainable logistics.
• Brian Wood (University of Colorado Boulder | U.S. Navy)
  Brian Wood brings 12 years of service with the U.S. Navy Seabees, an experience that has taken him from Illinois and Washington, D.C., to Cuba, Guam, and communities across the Pacific, including Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The relationships he built and communities he encountered throughout his Navy career continue to shape the next chapter of his education and service. Brian is pursuing dual master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and engineering management, with plans to build greater technical expertise in space exploration and movement within the space domain. He is also joining the University of Colorado Boulder’s Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience to earn a Global Engineering Certificate, with the long-term goal of returning overseas to help communities develop sustainable infrastructure.

For more information about the scholarships, visit https://studentveterans.org/programs-events/scholarships

About Student Veterans of America
Student Veterans of America® (SVA) empowers student veterans and military-affiliated students through a national network of campus chapters and mission-driven advocacy that supports success to, through, and beyond higher education. Founded by veterans in 2008, SVA is led by veterans and dedicated to veteran success. For more information, visit studentveterans.org.