Cassidy Bradley stays busy with her classes and on the lanes. The College of Saint Mary junior is seeking a business major with an emphasis on human relations while competing for the Flames bowling team.
Cassidy chose CSM for several reasons.
“First and foremost, College of Saint Mary offered me the best tuition rate. That was amazing,” she said. “Secondly, I really liked the idea of having a small campus and a small student-to-teach ratio. That was an amazing bonus. Finally, the bowling team was my biggest deciding factor.”
Cassidy began bowling the summer before she began seventh grade. Bowling in college was not something she thought she would do. But when she was a junior at Denison (Iowa) High School, an instructor started recommending colleges that had bowling programs.
“I never would have thought about bowling for a college program before him. I just started looking into places like the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and all those other places,” she said. “Come to find out, College of Saint Mary is a small campus with an amazing bowling team. Best of both worlds.”
Being a collegiate athlete can be stressful. “My first semester, I had 18 credits. I was full 18 credits, full student-athlete,” Cassidy said. “But I finally realized that spending a lot of time in the achievement center and finding people to study with and tutors would really help me succeed as a student-athlete.”
Bradley and the Flames bowling team also have found success. The team had its best season in program history as it was the first time the Flames were one of the top 64 teams in the country to qualify for the USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships. CSM finished 14th in the Dallas Sectional.
“First time since being sanctioned,” Cassidy said. “That was really a benchmark that we’re hoping to make a regular thing now.”
In the classroom, Cassidy hopes to gain the expertise to get her foot in the door of a business corporation or financial institution. CSM’s business program was designed with input from the region’s top employers. “I always knew that working with people and working with money, handling transactions, and HR really stuck out to me.”
Cassidy enjoys working with Dr. Narcissus Shambare, director of the business program. He also serves as her advisor.
“He has seen me progress throughout my first year going into my third year. He knows how much of a hard worker I am, so I can really show my talents through the work I do in my assignments and my exams and all of that,” she said. “I can just showcase my talent.”
