Welcome to my little portfolio space on the web! As you can tell by the title above, my name is Amanda Glenn-Bradley, and I am a MLIS student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
I can give you two spiels about myself; the professional rundown, and a much more personal view. The professional About Me follows:
Amanda R. Glenn-Bradley is the User Engagement Librarian at D. Hiden Ramsey Library at the University of North Carolina Asheville and coordinates the Creativity, Art, Fabrication, and Technology (CrAFT) Studio. She is a proud alumna of Mississippi State University (B.S. Horticulture – Floral Management), UNC Asheville (B.A. History), and UNC Greensboro (M.L.I.S.) and a current participant in the North Carolina Library Association’s Leadership Institute. Her academic passions for dynamic library instruction and the history and role of libraries as community organizations and catalysts for change have merged into her role at UNC Asheville, which is equal parts outreach, instruction, makerculture, and engagement. She kids that becoming a librarian was rather inevitable, given the love and influence of her great aunt Georgia Alice “Sissy” Taylor, a longtime middle and high school librarian in east central Mississippi. When not being the resident extroverted librarian, Amanda enjoys watching the antics of her three rescue cats and two longhaired miniature dachshunds, devouring pop culture in preperation for (one day) getting on Jeopardy, and enjoying the great outdoors in the heart of Appalachia on her orange Electra bicycle.
…wow, that was quite the professional spiel, wasn’t it?
On a more personal level, I love to be creative. Whether it’s working on that never-ending spin-off project derived from my undergraduate thesis or repurposing thrift-shop finds with some ingenuity and spray paint, I love making things. Even though I’m no longer actively working as a florist, I still make a mean wreath bow and some amazing centerpieces for the holidays.
I was born in Knoxville, TN and criss-crossed the Southeast as a child, resulting in a rather mixed-up accent that can best be described as Appalachian. I spent the formative years of my youth on a Christmas tree farm in Madison County, North Carolina, so the smell of fir, spruce, and pine is my absolute favorite smell in the entire world. (And yes, I am a real tree advocate!) I am a passionate sports fan, rooting for both my alma mater Mississippi State Bulldogs and my hometown Tennessee Volunteers. My house is one of the only in Western North Carolina to proudly fly the maroon and white outside!
I live right outside of Asheville with my other half of ten years (wow), John, and our small herd of animals comprised of three rescued cats (Donovan, Amira, and Nikita), two miniature dachshunds (Fletcher and Linus), and a very self-assured leopard gecko.