Brendan R. Roof is a first-generation student graduating in Spring 2024 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. His 2023 summer research internship will be under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Lindholdt. He is researching how Carlos Bulosan, and his seminal work, America Is In The Heart, are an illustration of the complications of truth and morality in regards to Filipinos in the early 20th century. In the 2023-24 school year he collaborated with Pat Donahue, cofounder of Terrapin Legal, in addressing stigmas and legislative action surrounding decriminalization in Spokane. In his spare time he volunteers for the Cheney Food Bank and sits among the flowers contemplating dragonflies.
