My daughter, who at the time
was earning a master's degree in school counseling, asked me if I'd like
to sit in on one of her classes. Her professor was a former gymnast and
judge and had mentioned that he'd enjoy having me attend a class. I
accepted her offer and I'm glad I did, glad as a coach and glad as a parent. I came away from that class with an
appreciation for Dr. Bradley’s teaching skills, but more importantly I was
fortunate to witness a man who loved what he was doing, loved his students and
was passionate about helping them succeed in their futures.
It wasn’t news that Dr. Bradley was
in his last semester in the classroom. I
believe he was in his seventies and was stepping out of the classroom and
cutting his workload to handling internships, interns and their mentors in
schools all around northeast Kansas. At
one point in the class, as he made reference to the changes he was getting
ready to face, he stopped to control his emotions. Although he could be happy and content with
what he had accomplished, knowing something he loved was coming to an end was
causing heartache. I felt bad for him,
but at the same time I was happy for him.
My daughter did her internship under
the tutelage of Tara, a former student of Dr. Bradley’s. She was a wonderful mentor for Amber
(something I believe Dr. Bradley sensed when he paired them together). Following the graduation ceremony four generations
of our family went to dinner to celebrate.
During dinner, Dr. Bradley came through the door to see Amber and to
meet her family. He and his wife and
Tara and her husband made the trip to Wichita for Amber’s wedding. They stayed for the reception and dance. With hundreds of guests, Amber didn’t get to
spend much time with them, but she was so happy they were there. Just having them there meant something to
her.
I found a little time to sit with
them and wished I had had more time to talk to all of them. It’s rare to find a person as passionate and
dedicated to what he does as is Dr. Bradley.
Actually, dedicated isn’t the best choice of words. Being dedicated seems to imply an unusual
amount of effort and perseverance. While
Dr. Bradley certainly has both of those qualities, it seemed as if he was
oblivious to their existence. He loved
doing what he was doing so much that I don’t believe he thought about it being
hard or requiring extra effort and perseverance. What he did made him happy, it wasn’t work. That is perhaps the best lesson his students
could have learned from him.
That first night I met Dr. Bradley I
had a chance to talk to him during the break in class. He told me Amber would graduate soon, but
that she would always be his student.
How true that statement was. Dr.
Bradley had an influence on Tara. Both
Dr. Bradley and Tara influenced Amber, who in turn influences the students at
her school where she is the counselor.
This drives home the point that wherever we are in our lives we should
look for good role models to follow while at the same time being a good role
model ourselves. We should appreciate
those we are receiving from while passionately serving those we are giving
to. Considering that Dr. Bradley has
taught thousands of students while at K-State you will get a feel for the
enormity of the layers upon layers of role models triggered by the passion of
one person who loves what he does. I hope, in our own little piece of the world, that
we all try to be that one person.
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