Lake Region –— In just two short years Brandon Dent, a member of the Ypsilanti (Mich.) Church, made quite an impression at Summit Academy (Summit), the charter school he attended in Huron Township.

Summit offers its students the opportunity to play interscholastic basketball in the Public School Academy League. Dent tried out for the team when he arrived and with his skills was invited to participate. He worked hard to make a contribution to the team and it paid off. A two-year letterman, Dent was co-captain of last season's basketball team helping lead it to a 5–3 record as top scorer.

Summit’s coach, Leon Morehead, remembers Dent’s arrival at the school and remarked in an interview with The News Herald, “I didn’t know everything [about Dent]. I knew he was a pretty good student. At the time, I didn’t know he wouldn’t play on Fridays.”

Morehead soon learned what Dent's convictions meant to the team. Dent was recognized by The News Herald in an article titled, “Uncommon Faith,” for his uncompromising adherence to Sabbath observance. Pressure from teammates encouraging Dent to play on his Sabbath weighed heavily on his conscience. He was not tempted to support his team even though he sympathized with their desire to win. He was grounded — Christian education at Peterson-Warren and Oakwood Adventist academies, along with life-long training from committed parents helped him decide to stand firm for Jesus. He did not play basketball on Friday or Saturday unless it was after sundown. Morehead remarked about Dent's absence on those days, “It was like having two teams.”

In addition to his athletic achievements at Summit, Dent was a member of the National Honor Society for two years. He tutored other athletes for his NHS community project, spent two years on Student Council, and played saxophone in the school's band. Working in the school office provided opportunities for Dent to witness about the eight laws of health.

Dent was the recipient of a MEAP scholarship, the United States Achievement Academy Mathematics Award and received recognition in Who's Who Among American High School Students. He was selected as a 2004 Detroit Frees Scholar Athlete for the State of Michigan and was the only Adventist recognized for this honor in his area.

Columbia Union College (CUC) awarded him an athletic academic scholarship and the alumni scholarship in recognition of his academic achievement.

After the athletic awards ceremony Summit's principal remarked, “If we had 500 more Brandon Dents in our school, we'd be in great shape.” Brandon's mother stated, “I believe he left a legacy of something good at Summit.”

Dent is now enrolled in CUC where he is looking forward to playing ball with a team that competes on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Division II level. Dent plans to major in business finance and eventually earn a master's degree in business administration.

Dent is to be commended for taking a stand for the Sabbath. Though he missed the opportunity to play in several significant games for his school, he did not miss the greater opportunity to witness about the life of a committed Christian.

Diane Thurber, Lake Union Herald managing editor