A raider, a badger, a buffalo and longhorn. She seems to have been represented by every mascot possible. Now, she has grown some eagle wings.

Brandi Sanderson is one of Canyon High School’s two new assistant principals.

“I actually graduated from Randall High School,” Sanderson said. “I was on student council, and I was a class favorite. It was a good experience, and I’m still friends with people I was friends with in high school.”

After graduating from Randall High, Sanderson attended four different colleges and universities.

“I started at Amarillo College, then transferred over to West Texas A&M University to finish my undergraduate degree,” Sanderson said. “From there, I went to the University of Texas in Tyler to get my counseling certifications and then to the University of Texas in Permian Basin to get my administrative certifications.”

Sanderson said of all the schools she attended, WTAMU was her favorite.

“I loved WT because there was always so much going on, and I felt like I could do whatever I wanted,” Sanderson said. “Just getting to be a part of that was a great experience. My experiences at University of Texas schools were mostly online, but I had great professors who made sure we had video conferences and stuff like that so it didn’t feel like I was so disconnected.”

Sanderson said she enjoyed each university she attended and would advise students to take high school seriously, as it will help them get through college.

“My advice to the student body is to learn as much as you can now, so you don’t get to college and have to learn it all as fast as you can,” Sanderson said. “Make sure you are getting this information because you never know what you may need it for.”

Outside of school, Sanderson said she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and keeping up with their involvement in various activities.

“I have a son who is still in high school, and my other two kids are already graduated,” Sanderson said. “My middle son is involved with the WT theater department, so I go to his performances, and I go to watch plays with him when he wants to go. My youngest son plays football, so I go to football games to watch him, and my daughter lives in Oklahoma City, so I don’t get to see much of her.”

Sanderson said her family enjoys being active when spending time together.

“My family is pretty adventurous so we go Jeeping and four-wheeling and whitewater rafting,” Sanderson said. “We are always doing something super active, so we never have relaxing time when we go on vacation. We are always wanting to have some kind of adventure.”

While Sanderson adventures with her family and friends, keeping discipline throughout the school is another form of adventure entirely.

“Discipline is the biggest part of my job,” Sanderson said. “There are also safety procedures I have to learn which is still pretty new to me.”

Sanderson said her role goes beyond enforcing rules.

“The safety issues and responsibility to make sure the kids aren’t acting crazy is my job,” Sanderson said. “Sometimes we have to give out consequences, but we care and want to be there to help, too.”