RUCKER BRANNON

To get an idea of who Rucker Brannon really is, you need the whole picture Rucker isn’t just captain of two varsity teams, one of the leaders in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a junior marshal, or a Polo G fan Rucker is it all

Rucker isn’t a Hammond “lifer,” but transferred in the middle of his 6th grade year His choice to attend Hammond was partially fueled by the fact that his brother had already gone here, but also by the idea of a more personalized education He says his parents believed the smaller and more focused classes would give him “the best opportunity to succeed and develop as a teenager ”

However, the transition from a public school to Hammond proved difficult for Rucker He describes the workload as hard to balance with after school activities: “we’re a small school, so in order for us to succeed and operate to the best of our abilities, a lot of people have to be involved in a lot of things, and so that can often become overwhelming ” He explains that this was the most difficult part of Hammond, but he hopes we can create a “strong student body and student base that can communicate well with faculty” in order to help accommodate everyone better

Luckily, Rucker soon learned the ropes of balancing his schoolwork and was able to get involved with many other activities around Hammond Sports wise, Rucker plays football and baseball He is proud of being named a co-captain of both teams his senior year because the role is voted on by those on the team, showing his “respect from teammates ”

He played on the varsity football team all 4 years, all of which were marked with a win at states Rucker was also named twotime First Team All-region and All-state, 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, and nominated for Mr Richland County Player of the Year

His love of baseball started when he was 5 and began traveling the country to visit all 30 MLB stadiums with his brother and father, a feat they accomplished last year Though his freshman baseball season was cut short due to Covid, Rucker continued to play the rest of his 3 years of high school, winning the state championship his sophomore year and making it to the state championship tournament this spring

Rucker’s talent isn’t only in sports: he’s also at the top of his class He was named a junior marshal, an honor designated to the students with the four highest cumulative GPAs during their junior year He was also a fall inductee into the Cum Laude Society, an honor given to the students with the top 10% of GPAs during their senior year With the combined rigor of his athletics and academics, Rucker was awarded the Walker Clarke Scholar Athlete Award and the SCISA Bill Simpson Award, the latter of which is an award only given to one male and one female in all SCISA schools each year

Also notable is Rucker’s presence on the Honor Council during his junior year The Council consists of a group of three juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen chosen by faculty who handle honor code violations

However, Rucker wouldn’t be Rucker without his strong faith He is very involved with the FCA, one of the biggest and most popular clubs at Hammond, which regularly hosts Christian devotions and guest speakers on Hammond’s campus

His freshman year, Rucker traveled to Uganda on a mission trip through Eastminster Presbyterian Church One of 16 teenagers who made the trip, Rucker visited the Sozo Orphanage, a nonprofit ministry that provides shelter for abused, neglected, or orphaned children The group walked around the village surrounding the orphanage and was able to pray, cook, and bond with the people living there He describes: “we just sort of spread the word of God with that and had some good fellowship ” He also went to Kampala, the capital of Uganda Overall, he says that just the ability to be humbled by “seeing what other people don’t have that [he does],” was very impactful for him

He had a similar experience in Costa Rica on the junior class trip, where he was able to help the community of Tres Equis by building a pathway “You get to see how fortunate we are here, because when we go to Tres Equis and help out those kids and build things for them, whether it’s a playground or a soccer field you get to see what some alternatives are ” He stresses his gratitude for being able to go on the trip, specifically the Pacuare Reserve, a protected area along the coast that is a haven for sea turtles Rucker recalls, “I never would have expected to be catching turtle eggs falling out of a leatherback turtle at 2:00 in the morning That was certainly a pleasant surprise ”

To top it all off, Rucker is family oriented He never fails to comment on his gratitude for the sacrifices his parents made to get him in Hammond, and his motivation to keep going is "making [his] family proud ” When asked where he would attend college in the fall, he answered “Wofford College in Spartanburg with my big brother ” A family oriented, athletic, smart, and faithful person, Rucker is the definition of wellrounded