SAN ANGELO, Texas — Price Tarbet of Big Spring, a 2022 graduate of Angelo State University, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Bulgaria for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Tarbet was so excited to find out he was selected to participate in this opportunity abroad.
"I was absolutely shocked. I was with a group of my friends and we were sitting around a fireplace and we had just gotten off work. And I like dropped my phone, I was like so elated to have been selected," Angelo State University graduate Tarbet said.
In addition to teaching English, Tarbet will expand on the knowledge of the Slavic culture and language that he gained through a 2022 Critical Language Studies Scholarship that he was awarded at ASU by the U.S. Department of State for intensive Russian language training in Kyrgyzstan.
"I'm going to be doing the English teaching portion of this program, and what it's well known for is having several lengthy essays that you have to write about yourself. As well as getting some letters of recommendation and then sometimes they'll just reply with a swift, blunt try again next year, or you're may if you're lucky, to get an acceptance letter," Tarbet said.
According to an ASU press release, Fulbright recipients are selected through a merit-based competition that considers leadership potential, academic achievement and record of service. Administered by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest international exchange program in the U.S., offering research, study and teaching opportunities in more than 140 countries to outstanding seniors and recent graduates.
Tarbet is just the fourth ASU student or recent graduate to be selected for a Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the first since 2006-2007.
"Fulbright's mission to create connections in a complex and changing world parallels ASU's commitment to fostering community, diversity and inclusion while preparing students to compete in a global marketplace," said Dr. Shirley Eoff, ASU Fulbright Program advisor. "We are thrilled that Price has received this amazing recognition and hope that his success inspires other students to apply. Winning a Fulbright can be a life-changing experience."
As a student at ASU, Tarbet majored in history and earned the 2022 Distinguished Student Award from the College of Arts and Humanities with plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Russian history and a career in either university teaching or diplomacy. Since graduating, he has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to recent immigrants in his hometown of Big Spring, and that has inspired him to transition into the field of education policy.
"I had become friends with several emergent linguists who were applying to the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) program," Tarbet said. "Before I committed to the idea of moving abroad for a year to teach English, I thought it would be wise to seek some local English teaching experience, so I volunteered as an ETA at Big Spring High School. I entered as a volunteer seeking experience, but I would leave as a passionate advocate for the future of American education."
Even more recently, Tarbet spent time in Lviv, Ukraine, volunteering with an NGO to prepare supplies for the eastern warfront and aiding in refugee relief efforts. Following his Fulbright ETA experience in Bulgaria, he will enter the Harvard University Graduate School of Education's Master of Arts in Education, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Advocacy program.