"I'm one of those who wants to make a difference in the field," Croft said. "I want to be a shaker and mover in any community or any field I step foot into. Working hard towards a goal that essentially would be rewarding in the end was any amazing thing to me."
As captain of the Sunbird cross country team this past fall, the Fresno native and El Diamante grad earned all-PacWest honors. Now Croft comes into the spring track season as Fresno Pacific's top distance runner.
"You do not have to motivate Brandon to do all his work," said FPU Track and Cross Country Head Coach Eric Schwab. "He will go above and beyond. He'll do anything you ask him and he's the type that he'll do too much sometimes if you don't hold him back sometimes."
But it's off the track where Croft is quickly becoming a prominent mover and shaker. A pre-med major with a 3.7 GPA, Croft beat out hundreds of applicants last summer to land a prestigious internship at Harvard Medical Center.
"I was working in a field with lymphedema, which is you know, tissue swelling due to breast cancer," explained Croft. "I came into literature and realized, 'Hey this is a spot I can actually create something and make a difference.' Where people have all these theories but haven't actually tested them yet."
While in Massachusetts, Croft said he learned how to push himself to the limit, both in running and in life. And now in his last semester at FPU, Croft hopes to pass along his message to his fellow Sunbirds.
"They're capable of doing something beyond what they think they can do," said Croft. "You can push yourself beyond what you actually know. It takes a little bit of guts, a little bit of courage, but people have shown us all the time that it's possible."
"He will be an excellent doctor because he is a very bright young man, first and foremost," said Schwab. "He has his priorities right and he lives his life right."
For now Croft will stay busy, moving and shaking both as a runner and as a future doctor, representing the Central Valley in the best way possible.
