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Elizabeth's Experience at The Bradford House

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October 25, 2020 | By Elizabeth Galligan

Bradford House Galligan
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My name is Liz Galligan. I am a senior in high school and I will be studying music education and psychology at Westminster College in the fall. I believe that The Bradford House is one of the most important things I did in my high school career.

I learned about The Bradford House while working on a presentation for National History Day in 2014. The volunteers were incredibly kind and helpful while educating my group and went above and beyond to give us every resource they possibly could to help us create our presentation.

That experience led me to start volunteering for the house in 2015. I quickly fell in love with being around the other volunteers and the environment. Everyone was always patient when teaching me the tour information. The Bradford House became the one place where I could escape every problem I had, and helping with events became very therapeutic for me. I volunteered for everything I possibly could. I found myself starting to look forward to specific times of the year, not because of a holiday or season, but because of our upcoming events, especially the Haunted History Tours and the Whiskey Rebellion Festival. I also became close to several of the volunteers and always look forward to seeing them because of the kindness and support they offer.

In 2017 and 2018, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease and a rare pain condition. Everything in my life got flipped. My schooling suffered as I was missing a lot of class time. I ended up going on homebound instruction. People at The Bradford House have always handled my disabilities with professionalism, kindness, and patience and are understanding when I have to take more frequent breaks or when I need to cancel. They have consistently made me feel useful, even when I cannot perform to the best of my abilities.

I deeply enjoy meeting all our guests and having the opportunity to educate them. I feel local history is something everyone should learn and The Bradford House tours are an amazing way to do it, especially since schools don't cover local information to a full extent. I always appreciate hearing why guests come to see us and some of their questions are often amazing and insightful. I love hearing how guests personally connect to the material, especially when they’re trying to learn about their roots. Teaching, learning, and connecting with others are a few of my favorite things and giving tours has taught me better ways to deliver information while engaging with an audience.

I think that The Bradford House is providing unique and important programming to the community and beyond. I look forward to continuing my relationship with The Bradford House through the rest of my life. They teach so much more than history and I cannot wait to see how we grow and expand our programming in the future.

Thank you for this opportunity to share how much The Bradford House has changed my life for the better.