From Defense Systems to Higher Education: How Manny Smith is Leveraging AI to Democratize Opportunity

For seven years, Manny Smith operated at the intersection of national security and advanced technology, building satellites and mission-critical software for the United States Air Force. To the casual observer, the jump from military aerospace engineering to the administrative back offices of American higher education might seem like a non-sequitur. However, for Smith, the transition was a deliberate mission—one rooted in his own formative experience as a first-generation college student navigating an opaque system.

Today, Smith is the founder and CEO of EdVisorly, a burgeoning technology firm that partners with more than 100 higher education institutions. By deploying proprietary artificial intelligence, EdVisorly is transforming how colleges process student applications, evaluate transfer credits, and ultimately, open their doors to a more diverse and prepared student body.

The Mission: Solving the Enrollment Bottleneck

The modern higher education landscape is defined by a paradoxical crisis: while the demand for degree completion remains high, the administrative machinery tasked with facilitating that journey is often archaic. Admissions and enrollment offices across the United States are currently facing a "do more with less" reality. They are tasked with managing record-high application volumes and increasingly complex transfer credit evaluations, all while contending with limited staff and legacy software systems that prioritize manual review over efficiency.

"At EdVisorly, we help colleges and universities automate enrollment workflows so admissions teams can spend less time on paperwork and more time supporting students through one of the most important decisions of their lives," Smith explains.

The company’s flagship platform, EddyAI, serves as the engine for this transformation. By automating labor-intensive tasks—such as transcript evaluation, GPA recalculation, and complex transfer credit mapping—the platform provides a technological bridge between a student’s past achievements and their future academic potential. The efficiency gains are not merely incremental; they are structural. In one notable deployment, EdVisorly helped a single institution process 120,000 transcripts in just six weeks—a feat that would have been physically impossible under traditional manual workflows.

A Journey of Resilience: From Georgia to the Air Force Academy

To understand the "why" behind EdVisorly, one must look at Smith’s own trajectory. Growing up in a low-income household in Georgia, the path to higher education was not a given. His parents, who had no college credit themselves, could offer little guidance on the labyrinthine world of admissions. For the young Smith, college felt less like a dream and more like an insurmountable barrier.

"My plan was to work out of high school or enlist in the military," Smith recalls. "I took every odd job I could to earn money and lighten the load for my family. College admission wasn’t something I knew how to navigate, and it felt intimidating."

The turning point came when Smith earned a full scholarship to the U.S. Air Force Academy as a Division I athlete. That opportunity became the catalyst for his entire career, leading to honorable military service, global travel, and the development of the engineering expertise that would eventually fuel his entrepreneurial venture. While pursuing his M.B.A. at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Smith began to see the systemic flaws in the admissions process not as a personal hurdle he had overcome, but as a widespread failure that was denying millions of other students their own "trajectory-changing" opportunities.

The Human Cost of Administrative Friction

For many prospective students—particularly those from underrepresented or low-income backgrounds—the enrollment process is often where dreams go to die. Students are frequently left in a state of purgatory, waiting weeks or months to understand if their previous military service or community college credits will count toward a new degree.

"They are left trying to answer basic questions: How much will my education cost me? Will my hard-earned credits transfer? Am I making the right decision?" Smith notes.

The stakes of these questions are astronomical. Statistical data suggests that every student who completes a bachelor’s degree significantly alters their life trajectory, including a seven-year increase in life expectancy and a lifetime earnings boost of nearly $900,000. When institutions fail to process applications quickly or clearly, they aren’t just delaying paperwork; they are delaying the economic mobility of future doctors, nurses, teachers, and professionals.

Addressing the AI Anxiety: A Tool, Not a Replacement

In the halls of academia, the rapid integration of artificial intelligence is often met with skepticism. Admissions officers and administrative staff frequently voice concerns that AI will replace the human touch essential to holistic student review. When asked if AI is going to take their jobs, Smith is firm in his response: the technology is designed to augment, not displace.

"For EdVisorly, building trust starts with being very clear about what the technology does and does not do," says Smith. "EdVisorly does not make admissions decisions for prospective student applicants. Those decisions always remain with the college or university enrollment professional."

Smith argues that at its core, education is an innately human endeavor. The role of an admissions officer requires empathy, professional judgment, and a deep commitment to the institution’s mission—qualities that no algorithm can replicate. However, by offloading the "drudge work"—the repetitive, data-heavy tasks that characterize the back-office—AI creates space for these professionals to engage in high-value, human-centric interactions with students.

Implications for the Future of Higher Education

The implications of EdVisorly’s model extend far beyond individual institutions. By creating a standardized, efficient, and transparent mechanism for transfer credit evaluation, the platform addresses one of the most significant "leaks" in the higher education pipeline.

The Data-Driven Advantage

• Capacity Scalability: The ability to process 120,000 transcripts in weeks allows universities to scale their enrollment without linear increases in administrative headcount.
• Equity and Access: By providing clear, immediate feedback on credit transfers, institutions reduce the "fear of the unknown" that keeps first-generation students from applying.
• Operational Resilience: In an era of shrinking enrollment pools and tightening budgets, institutions that can pivot to faster, more efficient decision-making are better positioned to remain competitive.

As Smith looks toward the future, his goal remains constant: to ensure that the "front door" of higher education is not a gatekeeper, but a gateway. By modernizing the systems that govern how students enter the academy, he is working to ensure that the next generation of students doesn’t have to navigate the same administrative obstacles that he once did.

In the final analysis, Manny Smith’s transition from building defense satellites to building educational software is not a departure from his past, but an evolution of his purpose. Whether he is optimizing a satellite’s orbit or a student’s path to a degree, the mission remains the same: using technology to solve complex problems and ensure that those who are most motivated have the tools to succeed.

"We are grateful to play a role in this process," Smith concludes. "Our future doctors, nurses, and teachers depend on higher education to deliver, and we are committed to making sure that promise is kept."