Students always talk about how some teachers change their lives, but some teachers have stories that impact their career decisions. Spanish teacher, World Language Board Chair, and FCDM sponsor Heather Bradley have made a lifetime of memories, but some of her most important ones changed her narrative on life.
“I think no matter how busy you are it is always important to find the time to give back to your own soul. It’s a hard balance to find time for yourself and give to other people. Find the cracks of your time to do something for yourself,” said Bradley.
Through a career of being a Spanish teacher, Bradley was not always set on teaching Spanish at a high school level, her fortunate opportunity to travel the world did just that.
“I was super fortunate that Anderson offered lots of trips at affordable prices. These trips helped me interact with people and not as a tourist. These were service trips, but these types of trips helped me actually be able to interact with communities and not just visit a place and be a tourist. The more that I interacted with people of other cultures, the more I enjoyed it,and it felt pretty amazing to be able to speak with somebody in a different language and have authentic interactions. It really just snowballed on me, and the more I traveled the more I loved Spanish.”
Realizing how much personal experiences could change her life, she wanted to create the same impact on her children and the ones she teaches. Therefore, one of her biggest teacher goals is to educate kids about life’s beauty.
“My primary goal is that language is not natural, but I hope that if I can’t teach them to be fluent, I hope at least I can teach them that the world is a beautiful place. There are a lot of really interesting people and there are lots of interesting cultures, while there are a lot of differences that can be appreciated, we are all the same at a core level. I hope I can broaden horizons just so kids can see the beauty in our differences.”
When speaking about teaching her kids about the beauty of life, she has firsthand experience of why living every day to the fullest matters.
“People who don’t know this, my son, when he was three years old, spent two weeks in the ICU at Norton’s Children’s Hospital, and I know how it affected me and my family. The thing that my son was diagnosed with is pretty rare and if you don’t recognize it in a timely fashion it could cause permanent heart damage. There’s nothing that will change you like sitting next to a hospital bed with a tiny child. As an adult you should never contemplate the mortality of your child and when you’re faced with it, it truly changes you at the core.”
Recognizing to appreciate what you have and also realizing you never know what someone is going through is one reason why Bradley continues to make others smile everyday. She further explains how the experience she had with Norton’s brought her into FCDM head sponsor position.

“The thought of being able to pour into something that kids were so passionate about (talking about FCDM), but also feeling like I could give back to a cause that meant alot to me was the perfect fit,” said Bradley.
Bradley is known school-wide by her fellow staff members and students as a very selfless person and giver. She always makes room for others and her many endeavors of life have made her face many emotions as a mother or as an individual. Living through many seasons of life, Bradley learned to appreciate the experiences and be thankful for what they have taught her.
“We are all 100% a sum of all our experiences. I think that giving back to others makes me feel good and I do it when I can because I enjoy it. I appreciate the moments in time where people have helped me, and I know what that can mean in somebody else’s life.”