Brian Bradshaw '07 Personified Care for the World, Service to Humankind
Brian Bradshaw ’07 was coming down the stairs of his residence hall when he saw a young woman crying in the lobby. Brian was planning on going skiing that day. He stopped to talk to her and, after listening to her, said, “Come with me.”
“But, you’re going skiing,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said. “And you’re coming with me.”
They spent the day on the slopes and her tears changed from sadness to joy.
“That was just the sort of person he was,” recalls Paul Bradshaw, his father. “He was always reaching out to other people.”
In 2009, while deployed in Afghanistan, Lt. Brian Bradshaw died from wounds suffered when an improvised bomb went off near his vehicle. It would be the end of his life, but not the impact he had on the world.
To honor Brian, his parents, Paul and Mary Bradshaw, started an endowed scholarship at PLU for ROTC cadets and veterans. Endowed scholarships can be established with current gifts, or through a planned estate gift.
An ROTC scholarship brought Brian to PLU, Mary says. “He always believed that an education was the key to opportunity,” she says.
“PLU turned out to be a very good fit for him,” Mary says. “Especially in the ROTC program, he really connected with a lot of folks there.”
Brian was an active force at PLU, not only as an ROTC cadet, but also as a photographer for the school newspaper and a member of ski club. And as someone who was always there to pick those up who needed it.
Paul says he thought Brian’s personality and character were shaped as a young boy. He was small for his age and being excluded from games or being bullied was part of his life. “It was clear to me from that point on he always stuck up for the underdog,” his dad says. “He wanted everybody to be included and he didn’t want anybody to miss an opportunity.”
The endowed scholarship will open the door for more people to gain an education. While in Afghanistan, Brian was always reading when he had the chance. Many of his fellow soldiers would ask, “Why do you read so much?”
He explained that an education was what made the difference in who we are, how we treat other people and how we see the world. Brian was always connected to people through service to his fellow man and community.
The Brian Bradshaw ’07 Endowed Scholarship will make the difference in providing the opportunity to have an education.
“He was always reaching out to other people,” Mary says.
And he still is today.
To learn how you can make a gift to this scholarship or create your own scholarship in memory of a loved one, please contact PLU Gift Planning at 253-535-7177 or giftplanning@plu.edu.