- Pronouns:
- He/Him
Brandon Anderson hails from Carmel, Indiana, and will be pursuing a B.S. degree in biology. He is most proud of the work he did in his high school summer research program, “Project STEM,” in which he worked to create a protein that would help study age-related hearing loss. Initially determined to go out of state, Brandon sat down one day with IU’s course scheduler and planned out a hypothetical semester and became excited by the prospect. Brandon’s favorite historical figure is Black Panther activist Fred Hampton. Were he alive today, Brandon would like to sit down for dinner with him and hear him judge the progress in civil rights that has been made, or not made, during the last fifty years. His best-loved quote also comes from Fred Hampton: “We say all power to all people. We say White power to White people. Brown power to Brown people. Yellow power to Yellow people. Black power to Black people. X power to those we left out.” Books he cherishes include the Harry Potter series, Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart, and Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning. Brandon lives by what his priest told him when he was an altar server: "If you act confident even when you are unsure about what to do next, everyone will think what you are doing is planned.” He wants to thank Mr. Ziegler, the club sponsor for his African History and Culture Club, and the Young Democrats Club, for helping him find his voice and have the confidence he needed to become better at public speaking. Brandon looks forward to getting another chance to work in a research lab and would like to study abroad in France or Belgium. He will hold the Edmund and Theresa Bruner Scholarship.