Brandon was born and raised in Marshallville, Georgia, one of the smallest cities in Georgia with roughly 800 people. This is his story, and how he got here today.

Growing up, I did not understand how geography, economics, culture, education, and access to

resources could influence a person's development and perceived possibilities. I only knew the

environment available to me. Those experiences eventually created the question that drives much of

my work today: How does an environment shape what people believe is possible for themselves

before they have the knowledge or opportunity to decide for themselves?

I was a high-achieving student diagnosed with ADHD at an early age, but stigma and limited

understanding surrounding ADHD prevented me from receiving the support that could have helped

me understand how my brain worked. I was even offered the opportunity to skip fifth grade, but

without educational advocacy knowledge or experience navigating such an opportunity, my family

declined. With few alternative educational options available in our area, my parents eventually

moved me from Macon County Schools to Peach County Schools in pursuit of greater academic and

athletic opportunity.

That transition affected far more than where I attended school. During adolescence, my identity,

behavior, self-esteem, and self-perception changed. I gradually learned to minimize my intelligence

to fit socially and avoid making others uncomfortable—a pattern that followed me into early

adulthood. At the time, I did not have the language to understand self-image, belonging, masking,

environmental influence, identity development, or how perception influences cognition, emotion,

and behavior. I was experiencing psychology long before I knew how to name it.

Those experiences fueled my curiosity about human behavior and eventually my advocacy. Through

education in psychology and human services, training in neuro-linguistic programming and

neuroplasticity, professional development, education-policy advocacy, fellowships, community

engagement, and exposure to different educational models, I began learning about many of the

systems and resources I had needed earlier in life. I learned the importance of informed adults,

engaged communities, advocacy, and helping young people understand their minds before their

environments define them for them.

That journey birthed Skrews4Life. I built the resource I once needed while combining professional

knowledge with lived environmental experience. Today, my mission is to bring psychological literacy, advocacy,

resources, developmental support, and an example of resilience by any means necessary. My work

helps individuals understand what shaped them, develop the agency to determine what comes next,

and go backward in life to inevitably move forward.