Alumni Story

On the chemistry professors he had at Catawba:

All of them would give their personal time to make sure you understood what you were trying to learn. They would sit down with you one-on-one. You just don’t get that at a larger university.”

Trent Bradshaw ’95 is a second-generation Catawba alumnus from right here in Salisbury, NC. Both of his parents are Catawba graduates. He grew up going to Catawba football, baseball, and basketball games with them. His dad, Reid, is in Catawba’s Sports Hall of Fame. His mother, Norma, majored in English, became a speech pathologist, and supervised the speech pathologists for the Rowan-Salisbury Schools. Trent got to work with her in the school system in the exceptional children’s department during his time at Catawba. He originally intended to major in education and become a teacher and a coach. In high school, he had been offered a scholarship to play football at Catawba, but through injuries, he decided to focus on the academic route. “I played intramural sports at Catawba, basketball, and such. It was a great time.”

Once he took a class in chemistry, his plans for teaching and coaching were a thing of the past. “I really enjoyed it, my professors were amazing, and I loved the analysis associated with it.” He loved science, he loved statistics, and he discovered he had a passion for it.

Trent declared chemistry as his major. Through a special arrangement, he was able to add a minor in physics through UNC-Charlotte; at the time Catawba did not offer that concentration. He loved the standout chemistry professors he had at Catawba. “All of them would give their personal time to make sure you understood what you were trying to learn. They would sit down with you one-on-one.  You just don’t get that at a larger university.”

After five years working in the lab as an environmental specialist at Phillip Morris USA, he changed fields. “I was in the lab daily and enjoyed it, but my dad was in financial services and was a regional sales director for Midland National Life for both North and South Carolina. I knew he needed help, so I decided it was time to make a change and join him.”

From a chemistry lab to the world of finance seems like a big change in the career field, with seemingly nothing in common between the two. But Trent found the connection: it was analytical, the statistics. “The analysis is really what drove me to financial services. The fact that Dad had been in it for about fifteen or twenty years when I joined him gave me more confidence to make the change.”

He follows in both parents’ footsteps in his support of Catawba athletics, with prior service on the Chiefs Club Board for nearly a decade. He has a passion for one sport in particular. “I’m a huge backer of Catawba baseball,” Trent says, “Coach Gantt does it right. He’s not there just to win championships. He’s a great coach, they’ve got a great crew, all of that. But the main thing is he brings guys in and the first thing he wants them to do is become disciplined, become better people. He wants them to be able to graduate and be successful. Gantt has a passion for the game, he has generated success for those kids, and they’ve been able to be leaders in the community and successful in their careers.”

Trent wants to see a great ballpark built at Catawba to help Coach Gantt and the College keep bringing in quality baseball players. “I try to do what I can, but it is going to take everybody pitching in.  Baseball and all athletics are a great way to build enrollment at Catawba but also allow those athletes to continue playing at a higher level.  Catawba can get this done but it is going to take the community, the college, and trustees in a combined effort.  A lot has been accomplished over the years.”

Trent and his wife Crystal created an endowed scholarship fund at Catawba a few years back. He regards it as another way to help support student-athletes to succeed at Catawba. “I always had a passion for finance and the business side of the equation, so we wanted the scholarship criteria to be for any baseball or softball player who is majoring in business, finance, accounting, one of those areas.”

Along with being president and co-owner of Bradshaw Rogers Financial Partners, his children’s sports activities keep Trent very busy. His son plays football at Carson-Newman University, so the family goes to Eastern Tennessee to see his son’s games, and Trent enjoys training with his daughter in tennis and softball.

Family time is a priority for Trent, but so is service to his community, in true Catawba College fashion. He and Crystal are dedicated supporters and volunteers for Meals-On-Wheels, delivering meals for the last ten years. Trent also finds time to serve on the county board for the Rowan Cabarrus YMCA and is a member of the Civitan Club of Salisbury. “There’s not a lot of time left outside of that,” Trent smiles. Trent focuses his time on what’s important in his life, and he knows how to make his time count.