Brendan Devlin
Hometown: Waltham, MA
Education: BA in History from Saint Anselm College
Favorite TV show to binge watch? Community on Netflix. Hard stop after Donald Glover leaves around season 4, though. Then onto Ted Lasso.
Biggest travel-related phobia? Forgetting a belt. How do I keep forgetting a belt?? It's the first thing I pack?? It never finds its way into my car?!?!
Favorite music genre? It's too complicated and we don't have the time - instead, I'll offer a few of my favorite artists - Quinn XCII, Childish Gambino, Jake Owen, and Tyler Childers.
Who would play you in a movie? John Krasinski - pretty much so he could do the Jim face into the camera for 90% of it.
Favorite part of the application? I love an organized and well thought out activities section! Let me know what those acronyms mean!
If you could go back to college and major in a different subject, what would you pick? Why?
Although I adored being a history major, I would have loved to major in either French or Philosophy. I ended up minoring in Philosophy because I liked the classes so much that I met the requirement by accident. I grew a love for French in high school and have found it tough to keep learning it outside of a classroom setting, so I wish I had continued on!
What is one piece of advice you’d give students for the college search/application process?
Rely less on lists and rankings and more on your experience with the college/university. I’d encourage you to connect with your prospective schools as much as you can. That way, you can really get that “gut check” on if those schools could be places you could see yourself at for the next part of your academic journey.
Let’s talk about RVA. What do you like about living here? What are your favorite things to do in the city/region? What should visitors be sure to check out?
There’s so much awesome history in Richmond, so it’s been special to get to explore that a little bit. Being from New England, I’m used to all of the history of my area centering around the Revolutionary War, so I was excited to explore places like the American Civil War Museum!
Being this close to DC is also a welcome change for a history-lovin’ New England lad!