Schulyer Bradley was a son, brother and friend. His resident assistant Carrington Smith said he was a person that genuinely cared about others.
“Something that we can definitely learn from Schuyler is to love everyone,” Smith said.
Schulyer was born on July 6, 2001, in Kankakee,Illinois. He grew up in Indianapolis, attending schools in Pike Township, then going to Cathedral High School where he played football. He ended his high school and athletic career at Carmel High School.
According to his funeral obituary, he was MVP for 8th grade basketball, a tournament champion wrestler and starting football player — he played sports all of his life.
He started attending IU in 2019, where he was studying informatics and business. While at IU, Schulyer was part of the Groups Scholars Program and pledged Acacia Fraternity.
Schuyler died Oct. 17 in Tuscaloosa,Alabama after being shot once Oct. 16 at the Strip, an entertainment district near the University of Alabama.
“We are no longer whole," said a post on the IU Acacia Instagram page. "A piece of our brotherhood was taken from us. Hate and violence have no place in this world, so we, as brothers and sisters, have a duty to fill the world with love and decency, and Schuyler did just that. The world is going to miss Schuyler’s amazing energy and kindness. Schuyler has a sense of loyalty that bonded him with his Acacian brothers for life.”
Juan Cano, Schuyler’s academic advisor for the Groups Scholars Program, said he and Schuyler would play basketball with each other about every two weeks at the Student Recreational Sports Center. But while many are aware of Schuyler’s outgoing and athletic side, Cano said he was also a serious person.
“When he came into my office it was serious business, it was academics,” Cano said.
Schuyler was very family oriented. In an essay for the scholarship program, Cano said Schuyler wrote about his family.
“His last email to me was about him going into the second half of the semester as a better student,” he said.
The Tuesday before he passed, Cano and Bradley were exchanging emails back and forth about selecting classes that would work best for his academics. He said this year Schuyler was stepping up to the plate academically, and it was proven in his initiative.
“His sophomore year he changed," Cano said. "He tracked me down. He said ‘Hey, I want to do better this semester,’ and unfortunately that was the last email we had back and forth.”
Cano said Bradley was very observant on who he was as a person. He was a biracial student, but also went to a predominately white high school and university. He believes this made the impact of his loss even more devastating.
“It is sad that so many people are losing somebody,” Cano said. “When we lost Schuyler a lot of people lost somebody.”
Carrington Smith was Schuyler’s resident assistant for the Groups Scholars Program during the summer of 2019.
Smith and Schuyler shared a connection through athletics — Bradley was a football player for Carmel High School playing both wide receiver and quarterback. They would have constant debates about rivalries within central Indiana football.
“He is the ultimate competitor — outgoing and protective,” Smith said.
Being well aware of Schuyler’s passion and skills, Smith drafted Schuyler on his team for the annual summer Groups Scholars football game. Smith said during the last play of the game, his team needed a big play.
Schuyler was playing offense but he switched over to defense, got an interception and won the game.
“He was a person that would rise to the occasion,” Smith said. “If you were in a game and needed a big stop, it is someone you would go to.”
Smith believes people can take an important life lesson from Schuyler.
“Give it all you got," Smith said. "Every step of the way. With every ounce."
