Matthew Dormus

High School Graduation Year: 2022
Year First Awarded the Carson Scholarship, School: 2016, Decatur Adventist Junior Academy
Sponsored by: Carson Scholars Fund

Matthew, a 7-time Carson Scholar, is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in ministerial theology at Oakwood University.  Matthew runs a web design business called Dormus Designs, is a student leader at his school and was recently chosen to campaign for Oakwood University Royalty for the title of “Mr. Oakwood University.”  He loves writing poetry and short stories and his long-standing dream of publishing a book will soon come to fruition with his first book “This Is Your Sign To Do Something.”  As a freshman in high school, he founded a community service organization called Operation Radiate which fundraised and facilitated outreach efforts to lonely, economically disadvantaged senior citizens.  Later, as a college freshman, Matthew used that experience and lessons learned from it to co-found a newscast called Good Morning OU to improve communication on campus.  As the co-anchor of Good Morning OU (GMOU), Matthew seeks to bring the students “campus news you can use” and utilize the platform to allow students to promote their on-campus activities and make Oakwood University the best it can be.

A fantastic opportunity of service came when Matthew was in the sixth grade.  He organized a water drive to provide clean drinking water cases for the Flint, Michigan community during the Flint Water Crisis in 2014.  Two school years later, while serving as school president, he led another water drive, collecting 470 cases of drinking water for Hurricane Irma victims in Florida.  A toy drive would follow, providing Christmas gifts for children spending the holidays at Atlanta Children’s Hospital.  Matthew also initiated a recycling program, ensuring hundreds of pounds of paper from his school would be sent to recycling centers to be repurposed into usable items rather than simply ending up in the dump.