The signs were there early for Brandon Sneed, maybe just not in bold print.
When he was a youngster, the Barton College junior used to create a family “newspaper” chronicling some of the happenings among his parents, Will and Karen, and his younger siblings: Kramer (an 18-year-old freshman on the Barton baseball team), Kara (16), Logan (15) and Heidi (13). He had a good time doing it, and the family enjoyed his shenanigans as well.
Years later, Sneed has returned to his earlier yearnings. He came to Barton because he was offered a non-scholarship spot on the baseball team from head coach Todd Wilkinson. His passion was baseball, and he knew the school had a solid mass communications program, so becoming a Bulldog was an easy choice. He was a catcher when he arrived in Wilson. Now, he is a catcher and pitcher.
After two years of baseball, Sneed has not attained his diamond goals, but he has found another niche: sports writing. He has been working for “The Collegiate,” the Barton College student newspaper, since last year and currently serves as the managing editor. His affinity for journalism has also led him to a job as sports editor for the weekly “Kenly News”, which is owned by Rick Stewart, a Barton professor in the Department of Communication and Performing Arts.
Sneed is currently juggling his studies, playing baseball and working for the “Kenly News”…and loves it.
“I have realized that God has plans for me – no matter what,” said Sneed, who attended Greenville Christian Academy (less than 40 minutes from Wilson) and played for his father. “Baseball hasn’t gone like I thought it would. Basically, I realized I was a nerd; I like to write. When I would create our family newspaper, I would just type stuff up. It was goofy, but it was fun, and we got a kick out of it. “
Sneed, a Dean’s List student with a 3.7 GPA, says he knows sports “the best,” but also has aspirations of covering other events. He could see himself writing about religion since he attended a Christian school — and since his parents operate a non-profit organization called the All Jesus Ministries. Just last week, he had a free-lance job that took him to Dunn, where he did an article on the Christian Action League.
“I am just continuing to learn (the journalism business) and not worrying about the future too much,” Sneed said. “That has made my life more relaxing and peaceful.”
As fate would have it, Sneed was taking batting practice at the Triple Crown Training Center in Greenville a few years ago when a friend of Coach Wilkinson’s spotted him and put the two in touch with each other. After enrolling at Barton, Sneed, whose mass communications concentration is print and electronic journalism, was all about baseball in the beginning, which left him little time for any journalism activities outside regular classes.
“I wanted to ease into [journalism],” he said. “The second year, I jumped right into it as ‘The Collegiate’ sports editor. By my senior year, I should be editor-in-chief of the paper.”
“The Collegiate” is published about every two weeks, or six times a semester. The staff includes three to four in management positions and a writing staff of some 12 students.
“Working for ‘The Collegiate’ has been a good way for me to learn without too much pressure,” he said. “Working in Kenly has helped me learn about my style of interviewing people. It’s just an incredible opportunity. God has really blessed me, and Mr. Stewart has helped me out a lot by giving me all these opportunities.”
Sneed writes articles, takes pictures and does some layout in Kenly, where he is responsible for producing two sports pages per week. Ironically, years later, he may again be writing more stories about family since he and Kramer both play for the Bulldogs.
“Barton is a good school,” the oldest of five Sneed children said. “I couldn’t see myself anywhere else. This is the right place for me. At a Division II school, you play sports because you love to play… You work hard in practice, conditioning, and games. You get four years to play and then you are moving on with the rest of your life. With the right breaks, you can make it to the pros, like Dennis Blackmon,” said Sneed, referring to the former Barton catcher/infielder whose contract was just bought by the Boston Red Sox.
“I would like to do the same thing, but…the first two years I was here, I think I overworked [in baseball] and put too much pressure on myself. Then, this job came along and put everything in perspective.”
Sneed’s hope is that his newfound contentment will lead to success both on the baseball diamond and as a news man. Then, he can be a “headliner” as a player and a writer/editor.
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