Just Hired: Ashley Adams-Bradley

March 20, 2025

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Current student Ashley Adams-Bradley.
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Just Hired! Through the experiences of local, regional, national and international students, Western Illinois University has some incredible alumni who are changing the world in the workforce. This series will feature students from all over the world who are hired post-graduation.

MACOMB, IL - - Meet Ashley Adams-Bradley, a Western Illinois University Special Education student, who has been hired by Pittsfield High School.

Adams-Bradley, a candidate to graduate this spring semester, began her career path in the 2023-2024 academic year, where she took her first official class. This May, she will graduate and complete her second year of teaching.

"I was blessed to be a paraprofessional while completing WIU classwork for my teaching certificate," Adams-Bradley said.

To land this position, Adams-Bradley collaborated with the Pittsfield High School principal to find the best way to use her skills and passions to meet the needs of the district.

"We have an incredible principal at PHS who truly values her staff," Adams-Bradley said. "She sat down with me to ask where I want to be and what I want to teach. It was a beautiful collaboration to meet the needs of the district and fulfill the subject areas I'm passionate about!"

In her dynamic experience of taking classes and working in the classroom, Adams-Bradley draws on everything she learns at WIU to continue her professional success.

"Taking classes while working in the classroom allowed me to immediately apply the things we were learning in class. This helped with various accommodations, assessments, data gathering, etc," Adams-Bradley said.

On campus, Adams-Bradley stays involved as a cheerleading coach. In addition, she hopes to bring her family to join the Leathernecks in the future.

"As a cheer coach, I'm blessed to visit campus every December for the Macomb Holiday Tournament. I look forward to coming back up for various events," Adams-Bradley said. "I also have two young boys who have already decided they want to attend WIU. They're only seven and nine at the moment, but they are always sporting their Rocky gear."

To share your hiring story with WIU, visit forms.gle/him2LFf9eyCb5yKk9.

To learn more about the WIU special education program, visit wiu.edu/coehs/education/undergrad/special_education.php.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing