The Roan Scholars Leadership Program is celebrating 20 years with 68 graduates, 30 current students and more students to come.
“When I think about what the program has accomplished in 20 years, I think it is remarkable that we have graduated now 68 alums who are living and working within the region and around the world and are making an impact in their community and they are continuing their commitment to the Roan motto of leadership excellence and lifelong impact,” said Jennifer Adler, assistant director of the Roan Scholars Leadership Program. “To me, that is a super inspiring vision.”
The program was started by Louis H. Gump in 1997. He was a Morehead-Cain Foundation Scholar at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he decided to establish a similar leadership-based scholarship program at ETSU.
High schools nominate students during their senior year, and a committee selects the scholars based on the impact students have had on their community and schools as well as their potential for a future impact. The first class of Roan Scholars were selected in 2000.
“The program interested me because of the amazing opportunities and connections it provides to the scholars,” said Keiandra Harper, Roan class of 2023. “I knew that being a part of this program would give me the benefits I was seeking during my college search.”
In honor of its 20th anniversary, the Roan Scholars Leadership Program has several initiatives planned to celebrate and fundraise this year.
Currently, scholars and alumni are traveling around the world carrying Roan Scholars 2020 flags. On Jan. 1, current Roan Scholars Shivam Patel and Connor McClelland carried the flags up to Roan Mountain, the program’s namesake.
“It was bitterly cold and windswept, but they took the flags up to the top of Roan Mountain,” said Adler.
An alumni took the flag to the Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena, California, and other alumni are taking flags on medical missions and business trips. Their goal is to see how far the flags travel this year.
In March, all the Roan Scholars will be going to Nashville to observe the state legislature in action alongside alumni.
On Oct. 10, they will be holding a fundraising gala to celebrate the program’s past and make a vision for the program’s future.
Other programs being held this year are introducing students to local leaders, freshmen and sophomore class-based seminars and engaging service activities. The program is really focusing on helping students apply for scholarships and fellowships.
“The Roan equips us with what we need to make ourselves successful,” said Harper. “The program pushes us outside of our comfort zones so that we can expand the talents and skills we bring to the table.”
In the next 20 years, the plan is to grow the program and the number of Roan Scholars.
