AGT Winner Brandon Leake Motivates Sierra County Students

SIERRA COUNTY — On Friday, May 1, Sierra County Friday Night Live, in coordination with Sierra-Plumas Joint Unified School District administration and staff, hosted presentations by Brandon Leake at Downieville and Loyalton Middle and High Schools. Leake, a spoken-word poet, educator, and motivational speaker from Stockton, California, is the winner of season 15 of America’s Got Talent in 2020. He received the first Golden Buzzer from judge Howie Mandel as the inaugural spoken-word poet on the show and later won an Emmy for a poem performed with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

Leake began by introducing himself through highlights and challenges. He grew up in a South Side Stockton household with his mother, grandparents, uncle, and younger brother. At age four, his older sister Danielle Marie Gibson died of heart failure in the car seat next to him. His grandfather, the only father figure he had known, died of lung and liver cancer three weeks before Leake’s high school graduation. His best friend was killed in gang violence during Leake’s freshman year of college. Leake also described periods of homelessness with his mother and brother, as well as struggles with depression and anxiety.

Leake performed his poem “Steps,” which outlines the experiences that shaped him, including abandonment by his father, family loss, and the drive to break generational patterns. Leake told students he hated talking about himself but wanted them to understand the full story behind his success. He stressed the value of surrounding oneself with honest, supportive friends. To illustrate the point, he led an activity in which one student tried to follow voice instructions while classmates created distractions by stomping and yelling. Afterward, Leake asked the student how difficult it was to stay focused and whether he needed help getting back on track.

Leake shared practical examples from his own life about taking steps toward goals. As a skinny high school freshman who wanted to play varsity basketball, he dribbled a basketball to and from school each day—two and a half miles each way—regardless of the weather. When his coach gave him tennis balls to dribble instead, he continued the routine. His mother sat in the parking lot of a neighborhood park nicknamed “Killer Park” for hours each night so he could practice 500 shots. Those efforts helped him become a varsity starter. He told students that a strong “why” behind any dream keeps them going through the hard parts, such as conditioning runs they dislike.

Leake also spoke about becoming the father he never had. Leake met his own father for the first time at age 25, the day before his wedding. Determined to heal that generational gap, he sought mentors at church and worked on his own healing. Today, he and his wife have three children, ages six, four, and one. “If you were to ask my three kids, ‘Does daddy love you?’ They would say, ‘My daddy loves me a lot,’” he said. Leake asked students to name two concrete steps they could take toward their own dreams, whether the goal involved money, sports, travel, or family.

Students questioned Leake about his weekends, favorite television shows, academic habits in high school, and even whether he could dunk a basketball. He answered openly, describing family time, church on Sundays, and his former laziness in school that once cost him extra tuition. The session ended with Leake shooting hoops with the students.

Friday Night Live is a statewide California youth development program founded in 1984. It promotes positive school climates, healthy choices, leadership, and substance-use prevention through activities and events for students in grades 4-12.

Leake told the group he enjoys visiting schools and plans to return to Sierra County for more in-depth work with students. He also hopes to film a short movie in the Downieville area.