As a junior in 20/20 Leadership, Brandon Birch earned the Above and Beyond Award, an honor bestowed upon students whose participation in the program goes beyond expectations. This year, he was selected as a recipient of the Great Achiever Scholarship because of his continued contributions to the program and was excited to learn that a $1,000 scholarship came along with this honor. Two weeks later, he was shocked to learn that he was being named an MLB-KC Royals Scholar and earning a $10,000 scholarship. "It let me know that my hard work was not in vain," he said.
Brandon admits that he did not always take school seriously. As a 5th grader, he transferred from Kansas City Christian, a private school to Wendell Phillips Elementary School in the Kansas City Public School District. Around the same time, he was also diagnosed with vitiligo, a disease that impacts skin pigmentation. “I used to hope that people didn’t notice, but I do believe it helped me grow into the person I am today,” he said.
The confidence Brandon developed over time is something that he wanted other students at his beloved Northeast High School to experience. He noticed that his classmates walked around with their heads down and he felt it was his job to remind them of their importance and self-worth. Brandon led 20/20 Leadership students in the development of “I Am Me,” their 20/20 Olympics project focused on helping students find confidence and build self-esteem.
Brandon continues to build his confidence and skills through his involvement in 20/20 Leadership and service as class president. He is also a member of the Kansas City Boys Choir, as well as a choir director and pianist at his church. Brandon will continue his passion for music as a field of study this fall at Lincoln University. Although he cites both anxiety and excitement about the next chapter, Brandon will spend the summer at Lincoln participating in the bridge program designed to ease the transition from the high school to undergraduate level.
Brandon will be the first in his family to attend college and aims to return to the halls of Northeast after graduation to teach.
