Two mechanical engineering juniors at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University have been appointed to the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NUPOC) program. They are the first two NUPOC candidates from N.C.A&T. The students are Matthew Fuini and Travis Boles.

Both students went through a rigorous selection process, including oral exams on technical areas and interview with Admiral Kirkland H. Donald, director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion in Washington, D.C. Fuini became a NUPOC candidate in January and Boles in May. NUPOC provides candidates active duty benefits of Petty Officer 1st Class – over $3,000 per month plus health and dental benefits while completing their undergraduate degree as full-time students. Prior to this appointment, the students were working long hours to support their families while attending college but now with the assistance of the program they can concentrate wholly on academics.

Upon completing their undergraduate degree, they will enter the Officer Candidate School (OCS) and then the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School. After the training, they will serve as nuclear warfare officers on board a nuclear submarine or nuclear aircraft carrier, a naval reactors engineer in Washington D.C., or nuclear instructor at the Navy Power School in Charleston, S.C.

NUPOC 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 is open to engineering and science majors with two semesters of calculus and two semesters of calculus based physics.