When Brandon Yucute was dropped off in front of San Bernardino High School, he just transferred from a completely different district, knew nobody, and was a brand new face in a brand new environment.  

“I was a bad student, I felt like I was such a shy kid,” Yucute said.

Yucute is now a senior, has been class president for 3 years, and is one of our star students here in San Bernardino High School. His growth has been exponential, becoming class president his sophomore year and making the Sea Perch International qualifiers all 3 of his years here at SBHS.

“I had no friends, and I was brand new to the district. I’ve come a long way,” said Yucute.

He grown a lot during his time here, and that growth comes from his leadership here at SBHS. He’s senior class president and the robotics club leader. That’s definitely been a big part in Yucute’s growth here.

“Over the years I was very shy. I wasn’t sure what to do or how to lead,” he said. “But I’ve been at it for 3 years. I’ve gained a lot of experience.”

Yucute’s leadership has definitely had a massive impact on the areas he’s in. His robotics leadership is an excellent example of what Brandon is capable of.

“It was our hardest year,” Yucute said.. “The whole team graduated and it was me, a senior, and another junior. We didn’t think we would qualify.”

He clearly had a load on his shoulders, and his and his team’s efforts definitely paid off in the long run.

“It was a tough year, but we really dug in and we did everything that we could. Qualification was close but we earned it for sure,” he said.

Yucute’s love for robotics also extends to aerospace engineering, which stems from his childhood watching Star Trek, Star Wars and Spaceships. These clearly had a profound impact on him and started his long journey to becoming an aerospace engineer.

“Just looking at airplanes or spaceship launches like for NASA, it’s always something I’ve been obsessed with, and I want to do stuff like that,” he said.

Yucute is a man of many beliefs. He believes one needs to trust themselves to do good in the world, Be an honest person and be real to everyone, and finally being a hard worker, and having a no-quit attitude.

“You have to keep going, even when you don’t want to,” Yucute said. “When you’re sick or you’re struggling, you just have to keep on going.”

He keeps his ideals close and clearly intends to pursue them. 

“I’m an awkward kid trying to figure out how to become an adult, be someone with integrity, somebody that’s part of the community, and who’ll make an impact on the world,” Yucute said.

Brandon is no doubt a hard worker, strong leader, and an overall amazing person. This is who Brandon Yucute is, and he’s one of our contestants for our Mr. Cardinal 2026 title.