Meet Your Neighbor

High School Art Teacher One of Many

Young, Talented Residents of Zachary

By Christiana Johns

When walking into Mandy Bradley’s classroom, the most noticeable thing isn’t the plethora of artwork and posters decorating the walls or the Eiffel Towers made from poster board leftover from a dance last year hanging from the ceiling, it’s the interaction she has with her students.

While waiting for the bell to ring, the Zachary High School art teacher compares with one student the concerts she’s been to such as The Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse, obscure bands to most parents but not to Bradley. As classes change another student approaches her desk to tell her she wanted to take a textiles class if Bradley taught it and then stays to chat until the tardy bell rings.

Many good teachers are able to connect to their students on an academic level, and sometimes even a personal one, but Bradley’s ability to relate to her students is exceptional in that she’s not only approachable, but also knowledgeable about the things kids care about such as music and fashion. “The relationship you build with your students and seeing them succeed and succeed in this class is what’s so rewarding about teaching,” Bradley said.

Bradley’s insight stems from her many talents and experiences. In addition to teaching art, she also creates her own water color paintings and photographs; she writes a fashion column for City Social, “The Ever So Confusing World of Fashion,” along with making the illustrations for it; she used to design her own clothes; and she worked for fashion designers in New York City. All of these attributes make her one of the many talented residents of Zachary.

Fell into teaching

Originally from Eunice, Bradley moved to Baton Rouge to attend LSU where she received her degree in apparel design. After graduation she decided to fulfill her dream of working in the fashion industry in New York City. She worked in public relations for famous designers such as Narciso Rodriguez, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alberta Ferretti, Moschino and Rifat Ozbek.

But after a year, she decided living in the big city wasn’t what she wanted. “I got a taste of where I wanted to be, but I decided to come home,” she said.

She said she had an interest in the arts since she was little and was always drawing and painting. “I fell into teaching art. I really love it,” Bradley said. When she got back from New York, she went back to school, got her certification to teach and is now in her seventh year of teaching high school art classes.

Writing the fashion column in City Social is a fashion – and writing – outlet for her. Her columns consist of topics such as how to pronounce famous designers’ names, different jobs in the fashion industry and explanations of trends in fashion. While Bradley still has fervor for fashion, she said she wouldn’t change her mind about living in one of the style centers of the world. “I never thought I’d come back here, but I don’t ever regret leaving New York. I have a job now that I love,” she said.

Open their eyes

Bradley is now in her fifth year teaching art at Zachary High School. She teaches Art I and Art II, which outline the basic

elements of art for beginners. She said she enjoys working with students who have little to

no background in art because of the possibility of discovering their hidden talents. “Kids who think they can’t do anything can come in here and do

really well,” Bradley said. “It opens their eyes to other things in the word and gives them an outlook to see things differently.”

She has only taught high school students, but Bradley said that teaching high school is what she’s best at. She also said she loves being at Zachary High.

		
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