Congratulations to new McNair Scholar Brendan Roof! Brendan was selected by the McNair Scholars’ selection committee on the basis of his passion for research, commitment to attaining a PhD, and overall potential for success in graduate school.
The federally-funded TRIO Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program at EWU selects motivated and talented juniors and seniors who are first-generation and low-income college students, and/or from groups underrepresented at the doctoral level to introduce them to academic research and provide them with effective strategies for getting into and graduating from PhD programs.
Brendan is a first-generation student who will graduate from Eastern Washington University with a major in Secondary English Education. He was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska and Memphis, Tennessee. He is interested in researching the pre-colonial traditions, customs, and socio-political history across Philippine literature, familial dynamics and themes in Pan-Asian literature, and the socio-economic influence of the Filipino diaspora. In his spare time, he dedicates his efforts towards the Cheney Food Bank and Reading Partners, an online nonprofit that mobilizes communities to provide students with individualized reading support to read at grade level by fourth grade. He also makes contributions towards Eastern Washington University’s Asian Students Association (ASA) as an active member. His 2023 Summer Research Internship will be under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Lindholdt.
