SANFORD, NC - For Brandon Curry, the road to college did not begin with a perfect plan. In fact, some of the experiences that shaped him most happened completely by accident.
Now, as this senior at Southern Lee High School prepares to graduate and head to North Carolina A&T State University on a full-ride scholarship through the Honors College, Brandon carries more than awards and leadership titles with him. He carries the hopes of a large family, lessons from teachers who believed in him, and the determination of someone becoming the first in his family to attend college.
“I’m a first generation for everything,” Brandon said. “I will actually be the first one in my family going to the military as well as the first one in my immediate family going to college.”
At Southern Lee, Brandon became known as someone who was involved in nearly everything. He participated in National Honor Society, JROTC, FCA and student government. Eventually, he was elected senior class president - a role he never expected to have.
“I didn’t think I was going to win at all,” he said with a laugh. “But I did, and I’ve enjoyed it ever since.”
As class president, Brandon focused on making senior year memorable for his classmates. Whether organizing events or speaking up for students, he learned quickly that leadership meant serving others.
“It just brings a smile to my face that I can bring a smile to others’ face,” Brandon explained. “I only want to help and serve others.” That attitude showed up in small moments as much as big ones. When students wanted new mirrors installed in the school bathrooms, Brandon took the request directly to school administration.
“I had to stay strong to represent this group of people,” he said. “So, I went to my principal, Mrs. Lundy, she was super kind, and we got the mirrors.”
The experience sharpened his leadership skills and helped prepare him for the future he hopes to build in business management. At A&T, Brandon plans to study business management with dreams of eventually owning a company himself.
His path toward leadership also grew through four years in JROTC - another opportunity that started unexpectedly. Brandon originally landed in the class after not getting one of his elective choices freshman year.
“I got put in it randomly,” he admitted. “I was kind of like, ‘Man, I don’t like this class’” he laughed.
But over time, the strict structure and discipline changed him.
“It actually really helped me and developed me as a person,” he recalled. “I don’t regret one bit of that class. Maybe, a few too many push-ups,” he smiled, “but I don’t regret it.”
The program eventually led to an ROTC scholarship that will provide additional financial support while he attends college, which is a huge plus coming from a family with nine siblings. It will also prepare him for a future commission as an officer in the military. Brandon explains that serving in the military feels like an opportunity to give back.
"I feel like I owe it to my country to serve,” he said. “It does not have to be a whole lot, but just to say I served for a while feels important.”
While Brandon earned scholarships, leadership positions and college credits through dual-enrollment classes, he says the most important part of his Southern Lee experience came from the people around him, especially his teachers.
“The best things about being at Southern Lee is honestly the teachers,” he said. “My teachers helped me grow in a whole bunch of ways.”
Those lessons extended well beyond academics. Brandon says resilience may be the biggest thing he takes away from high school.
“Throughout my high school career, there have been a lot of things that happened to the point where I had to get back on my feet,” he said. “Lee County Schools and staff taught me resilience, being able to get back up again.”
Outside of school, Brandon worked at Deep River Shooting Clays, where he says he learned another valuable lesson - networking matters. That mindset became even more meaningful the day he received a phone call that changed his life. After interviewing for the Honors College scholarship at North Carolina A&T, Brandon walked away convinced that he had not earned it.
“I was nervous. I was stuttering,” he recalled. “I thought there was just no way.”
Then came the phone call while he was at work.
“They said, ‘You actually got a full ride scholarship to A&T through the Honors College,’” he smiled. “I was like, ‘No way. You are joking. You’re lying.’”
When reality finally hit, he looked up at the sky in disbelief.
“I just looked up in the sky and I was like, ‘Thank you, God.’”
At home, the reaction was even louder.
“She was screaming and running around the house,” Brandon said about his mother. “She was even more excited than me!”
Coming from a family with nine siblings, Brandon understands how rare opportunities like this can be. He says he does not plan to waste it.
“I’m not going to take it for granted,” he said.
As graduation arrives, Brandon admits high school went much faster than he expected.
“When I got to Southern Lee my freshman year, they said it’s going to go by fast,” he said. “I didn’t believe them. And now I’m graduating tomorrow. It’s insane.”
Still, while he may be leaving Southern Lee behind, the lessons, relationships and memories will stay with him long after he walks across the stage. And if there is one thing Brandon hopes younger students understand, it is the value of getting involved.
“The best thing is the connections that you make,” he said. “In every single program, everybody knew each other. Nobody was left out. You’re all one big family.”
For Brandon Curry, that sense of family - combined with resilience, leadership and service - is exactly what is carrying him into the next chapter of his life.