Garrett Nagaishi, M.A.

Garrett Nagaishi serves as associate director of strategic operations, First Scholars Initiatives® with the Center for First-generation Student Success, and joined in February 2020. Originally from Los Angeles, Garrett’s career in higher education began at Utah Valley University where he was brought on to build I Am First, a brand-new campus initiative to support and engage first-generation college students. After three years, this initiative had grown into a program that engaged over 2,000 first-generation students annually, and led to UVU being designated a First-gen Forward institution. Garrett’s passion for supporting students is the result of years of positive interactions with dedicated mentors and university advisors. He has drawn upon these experiences—as well as evidence-based practices—to inform his approach to building successful student support programs.

Garrett attended Brigham Young University where he received a B.A. in history, focusing on slavery in Africa. He also received a Fulbright Scholarship to complete an M.A. in international slavery studies at the University of Liverpool.