Graduating senior lands prestigious Fulbright grant

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
May 2, 2011

Dawson Muñoz, a senior finance major from Brownfield who will graduate this month from Texas State University-San Marcos, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright grant to Spain.

Under the Fulbright grant, Muñoz will serve as an assistant teacher at a secondary school in Cantabria, Spain, while simultaneously working on a small business research project. His orientation will be in Madrid Sept. 15, and he will remain in Spain until June 30, 2012.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. The program has provided almost 300,000 participants from the U.S. and abroad—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

“It’s an awesome honor,” said Muñoz, who will graduate from the McCoy College of Business Administration with a certificate in Latin American business to go along with his bachelor’s degree in finance. “I just have so many ideas, once I get there I’ll know exactly what I’m going to do.”

His path to Spain actually began in Lubbock, while taking classes at South Plains College. During one exercise designed to prepare college students for roles in public leadership and service, participants were told to imagine a gym floor was a world map, and to stand where they expected to work someday. While most students gathered in the U.S. section, Muñoz walked all the way across the gym, alone.

“They went through everybody and asked what they wanted to be. And when they got to me, I said, ‘I want to be an international entrepreneur, and I’m here in Spain conducting international business,’” he said. “It’s amazing to think I’m actually pursuing what I want, one way or another.

“I’ll be working on a project with business development while I’m there. The Fulbright wants you to immerse yourself in the culture,” Muñoz said. “They want (the foreign citizens) to learn to understand the American point-of-view from people in the U.S. That’s basically what I want to do, network and get involved in the community.”