A love of English brought Bradley to USU Eastern
Samantha Bradley is a tutor at the writing center at Utah State University Eastern. She has an intelligent look in her eye and certainty in her voice. Her hair is cropped short on the sides and swept high over the top. Her sleek glasses and frequent smirk complete a look that says smart-and-cool. Not always easy to pull off, but Bradley nails it.
She says she’s from Helper, though she spent years of her childhood in St. Louis, Mo. She got to revisit Missouri last year with Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society.
They’re headed to Las Vegas this year, and Bradley’s ready to share a new short story, a companion piece to one she wrote last year that features a couple dealing with an unwanted intruder (spoiler: it’s a bumble-y one).
Bradley loves English and she’s good at it too. She decided against a nursing career after facilitating for a medical terminology course, lucky break. “Things kind of fall into place for me sometimes,” she said.
But she also works for what she wants, like when she missed her dogs so much while on an LDS mission in Eastern Europe that she became a dog groomer when she got home. “I don’t have this skill,” she said to herself when she tried to cut the family yorkie’s hair, “and I’m going to go get this skill.” That’s also why her own hair is cropped so short: grooming is a messy job and long hair gets in the way.
If she could live somewhere else, Bradley would try Japan or go back to Bosnia. “The whole place has a different texture,” she said. The languages and religious diversity in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia are especially interesting to her; her eyes light up while she remembers the people she knew and the ways they defined themselves – not by nation, but by belief. She’s glad to have had experiences that removed the fear that often accompanies religions uncommon in the states.
Her favorite popular thing? Marvel, though her opinions on the MCU have been evolving somewhat. “Overall I like the superhero thing,” she said. Favorite unpopular thing? Anime, along the lines of “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,” although she admits that her time on Tumblr has skewed what seems popular and unpopular to her.
As far as plugs go, she only wants to shout out Sigma Tau Delta. Anyone here who wants to participate in unique and memorable experiences with others interested in language arts all over the country should consider joining. Plus, you’ll get to know Sam Bradley, and anybody would be lucky to do that.
