Brandon Staple

This Soccer Player Keeps Focused to Improve His Community—and the World

When Brandon Staple realizes a problem exists, he finds a way to solve it. His analytical brain makes him a whiz at both math and science, and he is a leader of the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Club; the First Robotics Club; and the Medical and Bioscience Academy at his school. As a winner of PBS’s Academic Science Award, Brandon had the chance to work with a university researcher, and his ideas helped develop high-accuracy methods to classify rare cancer markers. Next year, he has plans to start the orthopedic surgery study program at Stanford University, a life goal since the sixth grade. Seeing his mom endure nearly a dozen shoulder surgeries has spurred his interest in leveraging cutting-edge technology to improve the process.

Brandon is committed to doing his part to solve social problems as well. Leveraging his love of technology, he came up with a plan to create an app that promotes positive police-youth engagements in his own neighborhood. He’s working to improve conditions much further from home, too. After visiting his father’s native country of Jamaica, and witnessing kids playing soccer in the streets with no shoes, Brandon started a program to provide soccer gear for underprivileged Jamaican youth. Every Christmas, he works with his soccer team and the local community to gather old uniforms, cleats, and balls. Then, Brandon ships the items to Jamaica to be distributed to those in need.

On the soccer field, Brandon helps his team find ways to win. He’s always pushing himself to do his best, and has been named MVP and player of the week on many occasions. And while he puts his team in the best position for victory, he also wants to make sure everyone has a chance to shine. He enjoys mentoring and supporting his younger teammates, and will often give them the opportunity to kick penalty shots. Win or lose, Brandon always exhibits great sportsmanship, setting the example of how the game is meant to be played.