Bradley completes 13 years of perfect school attendance

Granbury High School graduate Parker Bradley will be the first to admit he's not perfect, but the 2022 senior was rock solid when it came to attending class after never missing a day in 13 years.

"My family had the belief that you can't succeed if you don't show up," Bradley said. "Step one is showing up. Showing up is easy. My family made sure I knew you can't succeed if you don't show up. That was instilled, and it's something that I value because, you know, as you get into high school, and you're in all these organizations and extracurriculars — showing up, that's half the battle."

Bradley admits that it wasn't until he reached middle school that having perfect attendance began to become a feeling of self-accomplishment and a point of pride.

"My parents (Dawn and Scott Bradley) were very regimented. There were plenty of days I didn't want to go. I was a daycare kid growing up, and I was in the doctor's office about twice a month up until kindergarten, and then I guess by that point, my immune system had strengthened up a little bit," Bradley said. "In my eighth-grade year, I realized this is something that I can finish strong. I realized I could do it, and it wasn't about winning an award."

With his involvement in sports (second-team all-district third baseman) and a slew of student organizations, Bradley's "step one of showing up" wasn't always followed up by having a perfect day at school. It was a philosophy that his good days outweighed his "bad" days.

"You don't have to make it to 10 out of 10 every day. But you have to get step one done. And if that's showing up, you must show up. That's not the most motivational speech, but it's true," Bradley said.

Bradley also understates his many accomplishments that led to his being honored as a top-10 graduate from GHS.

Bradley's activities and leadership include being president of the Engineering Club, and Arts and AV treasurer and vice president, plus being a member of the National Honor Society, Student Leadership Council, Interact Club, Pirate Production Studios (design director), and being the head of sports media. He was also in Granbury Junior Leadership and was Pirate Talk podcast producer.

If that's not enough, Bradley was a baseball team captain in head coach Brad Eppler's highly regimented program that called for his captains to lead the Pirates on and off the field.

With high school now behind him, Bradley is focusing on attending Oklahoma State University and earning a degree in sports broadcast journalism. He has the good looks and the sharp mind that could quickly put him in front of the camera, and he hasn't ruled that out. But Bradley is also riding the wave of modern technology, and he feels that may be the career path in his future.

"I want to graduate from Oklahoma State. They've got a pretty good sports media program. Graduate from there, and then I would love to go straight into it (sports broadcasting)," Bradley said. "The long-term goal everybody kind of wants is ESPN, but my long-term goal is to coordinate, manage and produce sporting events and streams. For either ESPN or a college or Fox Sports or Bally Sports or somewhere like that."

With just a couple of months left before graduation, Bradley's spotless attendance record was in jeopardy when he was injured at a pregame warm and was accidentally hit in the face with a baseball.

The injury required a trip to a hospital emergency room, where doctors began treating Bradley's cheek and swollen-shut left eye. A closer examination showed he also had a scratched retina.

Ice treatments and anti-inflammatory medicine began right away. To everyone's surprise, Bradley walked in through the front door of Granbury High School the next day bruised and battered but ready to learn.

If that wasn't enough to cement his legend, Bradley climbed on the mound that evening after being medically cleared to play at 3 p.m. and still wearing his hospital admission bracelet "to remind himself about how much he wanted it." 

While he is proud of his 13 years of perfect attendance, Bradley realizes he didn't do it alone and that his family and teachers provided motivation every day.

"Showing up was a big deal for me. There were days when I learned and was a fantastic student," Bradley said. "And there are days where I was a terrible student who would be half asleep in class. One thing I want to do is to thank all the instructors and teachers, staff administration just everybody for bearing with me through the bad days. I showed up every day, but there were days where I could have been better."

Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231