By Mallory Aldrich

The Bradley Seminar is something I look forward to each year. For months and months the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship team plans for this exciting community gathering of students, alumni, parents, educators and supporters from across the U.S. Once a year, we come together as a community for three days to discuss and share ideas with like minded peers in a safe and energetic environment. Unfortunately, this event which was originally scheduled for March of 2020 was postponed due to COVID-19. But, on December 5th the 2020 Bradley Seminar went virtual.

Over 270 scholars, parents, alumni and community members from across the nation came together for a day of learning, gathering and community building. The day started out with a dynamic keynote address by Alonzo Kelly. Alonzo challenged our attendees to think critically, be an active listener, how to build authentic relationships and to truly examine our own behaviors before we focus on worrying about others. Our scholars and parents were left with “chills and inspiration” by the end of his talk.

Our scholars and parents were able to attend smaller breakout sessions on topics relevant to our community ranging from the importance of mentorship to college admissions in the time of COVID. Additionally, our scholar cohorts were about to spend much needed time together virtually.

As one scholar said “Thank you again for your incredible efforts to make this happen at a difficult time. The seminar brought such tremendous inspiration and warmth to all of us.”

It’s hard to believe that after nearly a year of planning, a couple date changes, and endless amount of Excel Spreadsheets that the seminar is over. The weekend is truly a highlight for me and seeing the CDB community together even virtually made my heart full! I know I can speak on behalf of the entire IEA staff and say how incredibly humbled and grateful we are to work with such an incredible group of scholars.