Coastal Carolina University alumnus Michael Dorman has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award for an English Teaching Assistantship for the 2019-2020 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Dorman is one of more than 2,100 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research and teach abroad for the 2019-2020 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.

"I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to return to Belarus and hope that my time there serves the Belarusian people well," said Dorman. "I am also deeply grateful for the experiences I had while a student at Coastal Carolina, as that is where the foundation blocks were laid that have made possible this new adventure on which I am embarking. I can't say enough for the quality instruction I got from my professors at Coastal or the unwavering support they've given me in the years since."

Dorman first went to Belarus to study Russian in the summer of 2012. After he completed his bachelor's degree in philosophy in December 2012 at Coastal Carolina University, he taught English for the next six months. He earned his master's degree in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin in Eastern European and Russian area studies. Dorman will be teaching English in Belarus and assisting working adults to improve their English skills and enhance their economic opportunity.

"We congratulate Michael on his award," said David A. DeCenzo, president of CCU. "The Fulbright Program has brought a number of important benefits to our campus and community, including Fulbright Outreach Lecturers leading discussions on our campus, at Horry-Georgetown Technical College and in local schools, and Arabic language being offered for the first time on our campus through cooperation with the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence and Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Programs."

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at Coastal Carolina University through the Center for Global Engagement.

"We are fortunate to have a number of volunteers among our faculty and staff who serve on our Fulbright Council to mentor student and faculty applications," said Darla Domke-Damonte, associate provost for global initiatives and Fulbright campus adviser at CCU. "Michael was one of six applicants who went through that process this year, and he becomes the second student Fulbright award that CCU students have received."

Peter Seifarth, a senior theatre arts graduate in 2017 from Young Harris, Ga., was the first Coastal Carolina University student to receive a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Study/Research Grant. He conducted research on theater in Nepal in 2017-2018.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit eca.state.gov/fulbright.

For more information about Fulbright initiatives at Coastal Carolina University, visit coastal.edu/globalinitiatives/prestigescholarinitiatives/fulbright.