Major: Associate in Arts
When Bradley Setter got out of the Marine Corps, he moved to Arizona for a year and started a degree in mechanics. However, he realized that wasn’t the career for him.
“I didn't know where I wanted to move to but I knew I wanted to be closer to Michigan,” he said. “My cousin told me there was a great community college with amazing opportunities near where he lived, and I decided that's where I wanted to start my career path.”
Setter started to envision his path at College of DuPage when he took Intro to Sociology with Norene Herrington.
“She opened my eyes to the world and helped me expand my passion for the people around me,” he said.
Of all of Setter’s experiences at COD, his greatest was joining Pride Alliance, COD’s gay-straight alliance.
“When I first walked in, I didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous, happy and also felt alone,” he said. “But within the first five minutes, I was a changed person. And, for the first time in my life, I felt accepted for who I was. My objective was to expand Pride to help more students than it had in the past, so I applied for the president position and, with a great team of officers, we did just that.”
Because of his efforts, the Office of Student Life named Pride Alliance its Club of the Year and Setter received the Benjamin P. Hyink Student Leader of the Year Award.
Setter earned his Associate in Arts degree from COD and then transferred to Robert Morris University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management.
In 2019, he and his former husband, Matt, signed a contract with iHeart Radio and launched Parklandia, a podcast that documented the couple’s experiences traveling the country with the goal of visiting as many national parks as possible.
After getting off the road, the couple found a home in an unlikely place—Oklahoma City, where Setter secured a role as area director of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network. He said the role was similar to being president of Pride Alliance at COD.
“Without the experiences at College of DuPage, I wouldn’t have so easily found this job serving the next generation of amazing children who need mentors in their lives, which will help break generational cycles like I was able to.”
Setter is now in North Carolina launching a community-focused strategic marketing agency, GEORGE, at ReCity Network, which is a nonprofit co-working space to over 40 organizations focused on driving social good.
Setter is grateful to COD for the many opportunities offered to him, and he advises other students to get involved.
“You will find a great support system that will expand your education farther beyond the classrooms,” he said.
(Photo by AJ Stegall at AJStegall.com)
Learn more about the Associate in Arts degree at College of DuPage