Home

10%

The Chase is On

UNC Asheville Librarian and Alumna Amanda Glenn-Bradley ‘13 Competes on National Quiz Show

By UNC Asheville

September 14^th, 2021

How do you prepare for a test where the questions can cover anything, in any field, and a lot of money is on the line?

Well, it helps if you’re a librarian.

It also helps if you studied Humanities at UNC Asheville.

That’s what UNC Asheville alumna and User Engagement Librarian Amanda Glenn-Bradley ‘13 discovered when she found herself booked to compete on an episode of The Chase, a fast-paced quiz show in which contestants attempt to win money by challenging a quiz show expert, known as the Chaser.

Glenn-Bradley, who majored in history at UNC Asheville, describes herself as “a little bit of a sponge for information,” a trait that was encouraged by her father.

“Dad was always the type that not only pushed me academically, but encouraged me academically,” Glenn-Bradley said. “He was never the type that would let anybody make fun of me for the fact that I knew a little bit of everything, because he was the exact same way.”

Amanda Glenn-Bradley and her father, Bill, at her graduation in 2013.

Glenn-Bradley explained that many people would underestimate her father, who passed away in August 2020 from pancreatic cancer.

“He was six-foot-two bright red hair, wore it in a ponytail, he was in overalls a lot of the time because he worked with farmers,” Glenn-Bradley said. “He had a very distinct Southern accent, and people would just write him off completely. They'd be like, ‘Oh, this is just some dumb hick.’ I run into the same thing because I grew up in Western North Carolina and east Tennessee. I have an accent.”

Her father’s passing drove Glenn-Bradley to take the leap to try out for The Chase, she said. She saw being on the show as not only a chance to honor her father, but as an opportunity to talk about pancreatic cancer on a national platform.

“I'm the type of person that I try to find something at least somewhat positive in everything that's going on,” she said. “Not only losing my dad, but everything going on with the pandemic, it gave me perspective to go. Don't wait on things. Take chances. Get messy.”

When Glenn-Bradley found out she was one of the lucky applicants selected to appear on the show, she began bingeing episodes of quiz and trivia related podcasts, and watched a lot of Jeopardy, of course. But she found the best preparation for competing on the show took place every day at work.

“My official title here at the university is user engagement librarian; that translates to the loudest one of us in the entire building,” Glenn-Bradley jokes. “That also translates to being at the reference desk. I teach classes; I'm helping students do research. So, I encounter a little bit of every academic field in what I do… They come to us for help with doing the research, I wind up going down those rabbit holes with them and learning about their topic right alongside them.”

That day-to-day experience came in handy during the competition.

“There were a couple of questions that I encountered that the only reason I knew them was because I had worked with a student on something,” Glenn-Bradley said. “And there were a couple that the only reason I knew them is because of, of all things, either Humanities 324 or Humanities 414.”

Glenn-Bradley can’t reveal yet how much her work experience in Ramsey and her Humanities classes paid off on The Chase—she’s sworn to secrecy until her episode airs on September 19. Whatever the result, Glenn-Bradley says being a trivia buff, even one that can compete on a national primetime television show, is just a bonus aspect of a liberal arts education.

“I think it shows the depth and the breadth of the knowledge that our students can get. And it's not just in one particular area that they're coming away with knowledge and interest in. They're coming away with a little bit of everything,” Glenn-Bradley said. “I think that's the real power of what we do here at UNCA; everything is so intersectional that you come out understanding where we are as a society, where we've been, what we're coming from, how we can make things better.

“Game shows are a bonus. We’re out to change the world.”

Glenn-Bradley and her fellow contestants.

Button Label

Q&A: HOW 3 UNCA STUDENTS’ FIELDWORK IS ADVANCING THE SCIENCES & SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN NC

February 23^rd, 2026

Read

Finding Her Place in the Big Cheese

How UNC Asheville helped Shannon Herlihy transform a passion for food systems, health, and justice into a career supporting small-scale cheesemakers around the world

Read

MAHEC Internship Prepares UNC Asheville Students for Careers in Medicine

The Chase is On

UNC Asheville Librarian and Alumna Amanda Glenn-Bradley ‘13 Competes on National Quiz Show

February 23^rd, 2026

How UNC Asheville helped Shannon Herlihy transform a passion for food systems, health, and justice into a career supporting small-scale cheesemakers around the world

January 26^th, 2026

Senior Chemistry Student Adam Wold Powers Meaningful Change in Sustainability Research

December 2^nd, 2025

An epic journey from UNC Asheville to the prestigious Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program

February 23rd, 2026

How UNC Asheville helped Shannon Herlihy transform a passion for food systems, health, and justice into a career supporting small-scale cheesemakers around the world

January 26th, 2026

Senior Chemistry Student Adam Wold Powers Meaningful Change in Sustainability Research

December 2nd, 2025

An epic journey from UNC Asheville to the prestigious Harvard/MIT MD-PhD Program

February 23^rd, 2026

January 26^th, 2026

December 2^nd, 2025