The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on July 29 celebrated the largest graduating class in the history of the U.S. Digital Corps.
The U.S. Digital Corps is a two-year fellowship for early-career technologists who typically serve about 2.5 years in government. This year’s 71 graduating fellows worked at 15 federal agencies as software engineers, data scientists, and cybersecurity specialists.
Officials said the fellows supported initiatives involving artificial intelligence (AI), fraud prevention, environmental review, and other technology priorities. They also supported work aligned with the president’s “America’s AI Action Plan.”
During the graduation ceremony, federal leaders encouraged graduates to continue serving in government as agencies expand AI adoption and modernize federal technology.
GSA Administrator Edward Forst said the graduates demonstrate that successful government technology modernization depends on talent.
“At GSA, we talk about technology a lot. But how does it all happen? It happens through talent,” Forst said. “The talent [is] you. The fellows of the U.S. Digital Corps. You make really special things happen.”
Forst also emphasized GSA’s governmentwide reach, noting that the agency ultimately serves every American through its technology, acquisition, and shared services work. Forst said GSA’s ability to serve agencies and the public depends on attracting and retaining top technical talent.
“Every good thing happens because of the people that we hire, develop, empower, train, mentor, promote, and retain. That makes a big difference,” he said. “We’re people-based and we’re talent-hungry.”
Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor also emphasized the importance of talent, drawing on his experience in the venture capital industry.
“Everything in my mind starts and ends with talent,” Kupor said. “Organizations are very simple. They are collections of people who are unified to go attack a certain goal.”
Kupor encouraged the fellows to focus on the long-term impact of their career decisions rather than whether every decision proves successful.
He also encouraged fellows to challenge longstanding practices by asking why processes exist.
“Asking why we do things is the most important thing,” Kupor said. “The honest answer for many things is we do them because we’ve been doing them for a long time, and that doesn’t necessarily make them right.”
Kupor also encouraged the graduates to remain optimistic about the role technology can play in government.
“Choose to be optimistic. Think about what can be, as opposed to what are the challenges we face,” he said.