Honors College Student Receives Prestigious Fulbright Award

Danielle Porter, a senior majoring in psychology and Spanish and member of the Helen Hardin Honors College, received a Fulbright award to serve as an English teaching assistant in Spain. She will assist English language classes for pre-schools and elementary schools in the country's La Rioja region. Porter, who graduates in May, also will serve as a cultural ambassador to students, faculty, staff and the community.

"I'm proud to represent the University of Memphis and the South while fostering cultural exchange in the Spanish community," she said. "None of this would be possible without the support of my professors, staff, friends and family."

Porter is among 1,900 U.S. citizens who will study, conduct research and teach abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement as well as record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 370,000 participants ­­with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English and conduct research annually in some 140 countries throughout the world.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State and managed by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.