Sophomore Brandon Putnam does not squander second chances.
Putnam returned to Duke this semester after voluntarily withdrawing last Spring while he faced gun charges. He and two fellow football players were dismissed from the team after an incident in which a gun was fired on campus. Putnam pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges related to possessing a concealed firearm on educational property. But while away from campus, he submitted an application for re-enrollment.
“I’ve learned that you can’t let moments define you—you have to define yourself daily,” he said. “As [Head Football Coach David] Cutcliffe would say, ‘You either get better or you get worse every day.’ I’m still adhering to those goals and striving to get better every day.”
By returning to Duke, Putnam turned down multiple offers for full athletic scholarships from various Division-1 football programs, and his playing days are now over.
He’s a serious student, though, boasting a 3.8 GPA while pursuing a public policy studies major and markets and management certificate. He expects to graduate on time, as he took classes online through a local college in Atlanta while away from Duke so that he would not fall behind. Someday, he hopes to become an athletic director at a premier Division-1 university like Duke, Stanford University or Vanderbilt University.
The only one of the three former football players to return to Duke, Putnam said even when his status at the University was threatened, his desire to return was never up for negotiation. He said his feelings for Duke never changed, and that when he committed as an athlete he made “a lifelong decision” that Duke would be the school where he earned his degree.
“I decided to come back to my home, Duke, to be a part of something bigger than myself,” he said. “The people here are good company—everybody here has a goal to aspire to be something bigger than what the eye can see. I wanted to be a part of something great and continue to have a great Duke experience.”
“Leadership amongst peers”
Since returning to the University, Putnam has wasted no time getting involved.
He’s a manager for the men’s golf team and a member of Duke Student Broadcasting, the Duke Investment Club and the Duke Marketing Club.
Earlier in the semester, Putnam was selected to serve on Duke Student Government’s athletics and campus services committee. In November, Putnam was voted onto the Young Trustee Nominating Committee.
“Leadership amongst peers is extremely important... [and] I feel I can help pay my dues to Duke by determining who shares the passion I have for this campus,” Putnam said of his role in selecting Young Trustee finalists.
When Putnam applied for an at-large senator position in DSG, his background never came up as an issue, said DSG President Mike Lefevre, a senior.
“We didn’t even know [about the charges], and I think that was much better,” Lefevre said, noting DSG representatives learned of the charges after Putnam’s election.
Since joining the Senate, Putnam’s perspective and enthusiasm have been his two of his best attributes, said DSG Executive Vice President Pete Schork, a junior. These qualities were contributing factors in his nomination to the YNTC, he added.
“[Putnam] has been a productive member of DSG since he began in late September, and I think people acknowledge that,” Schork said. “People were impressed with what he had to say and contribute [during YNTC nominations]... and plainly, he’s been doing a great job—he’s a great guy.”
Making an impact
Putnam’s main project in DSG is an alcohol education initiative that will inform students about the specifics of Blood Alcohol Content.
The initiative will provide students with a wallet-sized card that estimates BAC based on gender, weight and number of drinks and aims to promote safe drinking habits.
“Everybody’s not going to look at them but still we want to help kids that are susceptible, that will accept change,” he said of the cards, which will be available in the Fall.
To put it together, Putnam has worked in collaboration with Healthy Devils and the Duke Student Wellness Center.
“Working with Brandon has been great,” Elizabeth Prince, assistant director of the Wellness Center, wrote in an e-mail Sunday. “It is nice to work with a student that is driven and wants to encourage their peers to be safer and wants to have impact on campus.”
Putnam has not forgotten the charges from earlier this year, but he is looking forward to his future and is nothing but optimistic.
“I like to consider it a minor setback for a major comeback,” he said.
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