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KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 10, 2025

Andrew Bramlett is well beyond his years, recalling history like a scholar who has long been in the field, longer than his lifetime. Some might say he鈥檚 prodigious.

At 19 years old, the first-year history student at 黑料网 sits on the Kennesaw Historic Preservation Commission. A decade ago, though, he was appointed vice president of the Kennesaw Historical Society and served in this role until the group disbanded in 2023.

鈥淚 answered a few trivia questions correctly at a meeting in early December 2015, a few weeks before my 10th birthday,鈥� recalled Bramlett, a student in the KSU Journey Honors College. 鈥淟ater in the meeting, it came up that a vice president was needed to file paperwork with the state, and I was nominated for the role.鈥�

Apart from being a local historian, he excels as a student. This year, he is the recipient of KSU鈥檚 Undergraduate Research Award for a paper on media mogul William Randolph Hearst鈥檚 ownership of the Atlanta Georgian, an early 20th century newspaper. Last year, while dual enrolling, he earned runner-up for a research paper on Vice President Thomas R. Marshall.

He now looks forward to his experience on the Gilder Lehrman's Undergraduate Advisory Council, which offers select students across the country a unique chance to connect with a wide range of historical professionals, including teachers, professors, archivists, librarians, and museum experts.

鈥淣ot only does he write well, but he already has a good grasp of how to do historical research, then put it all together into not just a historical narrative but a historical argument,鈥� said history professor David Parker, who teaches in the . 鈥淗e goes beyond telling a story and makes a point.鈥�

Bramlett has also published articles on niche threads of Georgia history in publications such as Georgia Backroads, and recently, he unveiled a storyboard at the Kennesaw City Cemetery, where he wrote about notable people buried there. When he鈥檚 not writing, he鈥檚 leading tours at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park or volunteering with a number of organizations, such as the Cobb County Genealogical Society.

An avid reader, Bramlett owns about 1,000 books, mostly nonfiction, plus a few artifacts like salesman samples, a popular medium in the early 20th century. His love for history comes from watching his father, the town historian of Albemarle, North Carolina. At age 10, Bramlett gave his first historical presentation alongside his father on street names in the Kennesaw area. Last year, the City of Kennesaw presented them both with the Citizen of the Year Award.

鈥淲e bounce a lot of ideas off each other,鈥� Bramlett said.

Bramlett also received a Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council award for Local History Advocacy in 2018 and was named the Honorary City Historian for the City of Kennesaw in 2023.

The connections he had been able to forge as a child created research opportunities at 黑料网 that were too rich to forgo.

Before becoming a student assistant for the Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books, his current role at 黑料网, Bramlett had volunteered there for several years. JoyEllen Williams, special collections and rare books curator, met Bramlett at a Kennesaw Historical Society meeting when he was 11 or 12 years old. At the time, she was an outreach archivist.

鈥淚 go to this meeting to try to get to know people in the Kennesaw Historical Society, and I thought, 鈥楾his is the vice president 鈥� how is that possible?鈥欌�� Williams recalled. 鈥淗e was just a very mature child. He had a display at that meeting also, items from his personal collection related to Kennesaw history.鈥�

From then on, Bramlett assisted Williams in understanding the history of Kennesaw, which he had been researching for some time, and she shared her love of rare books, eventually writing his recommendation letter to attend Rare Book School, held at the University of Virginia.

As a student assistant, Bramlett helps Williams with anything that needs doing. His main role is to assist her with collection management projects, inventorying, as well as outreach and support. As an advanced researcher himself, Bramlett also facilitates research appointments with students.

鈥淧eople are very fascinated by Andrew when they meet him,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淭hey want to support the unique things he鈥檚 doing, whether it鈥檚 spending a lot of time in a cemetery or collecting a salesman sample. He is one of those people that doesn鈥檛 really know a stranger, and that鈥檚 been very helpful to me.鈥�

鈥� Story by Amber Perry

Photos by Darnell Wilburn

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 黑料网 offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.