Updates, Decisions, and Bryan Turns 35

Hello, Internet! I know, it has been a while. Did you think that the Parkinson's had won? That I was in a wheelchair mumbling incoherently to my sassy, overweight nurse? Not likely, bro --- here are some updates and an interesting decision that I had to make.

UPDATES

• I turned 35 on May 15th. There's really nothing special about entering your mid-thirties except that I seem to understand less and less cultural references by my students. Also, do you know what Tinder is? For your sake, I hope you never have to have it explained to you by a sorority girl. Some things can't be unheard. 

• Exciting news on the home front: my daughter signed a contract with Death Row Records. They grow up so fast!

• Here's the rest of my spring semester in a photo essay (photos are not in chronological order): 

Here is the result of the ARISE fundraiser. An almost completed playground that is inclusive for all children!

 Avery reacts to the SCOTUS decision!

Very cute...unless she grows up to be a stripper

My article for IC View---I enjoy the press when I can write the story answering my own questions


I spent a week at the Army War College---absolutely transformative.

Bryan Roberts: The King of Sound Bites

Oh, Apple Watch, you complete me!

Spent way too much time making an Avery Muppet at a super depressing (and bankrupt/closing) FAO Schwartz

LIFE DECISIONS

I think a common perception of someone living with Parkinson's is that they are individuals who have given up on their professional aspirations and, instead, have bake sales and dabble in advocacy in anticipation of something bad eventually happening.

My hope would be that--through this blog--it becomes clear that life with PD is far more nuanced and interesting. While I have had to slightly modify my life due to PD, my career aspirations are the same: I want to be a college president.

I've kept my eye on the prize but as my contract expired at Ithaca College, I received an unexpected job offer: from a media-focused hedge fund. As an academic dean, I pull a decent salary but no where near private equity money. So here is the way I looked at my two job paths:

• Hedge Fund
• Work 80-hour weeks but, based on compensation model, would secure the financial future of my family.
• The client base and nature of work seems intellectually stimulating.
• How would my health be impacted? I would be financially set but would it put me in a wheelchair or worse?

• Associate Dean
• Continue my 70-hour weeks and continue my career ascent.
• My work is varied and challenging. I hate cold weather but love what we are doing at the Park School of Communications.
• The disease has progressed slowly during my 4-years at IC. Why rock the boat, health-wise?

Let's end the drama--I signed a one-year deal back at IC. The decision maker had nothing to do with Parkinson's and everything to due with mentorship. In higher education, we mentor the young. In finance, they eat the young.

The value and enjoyment that I receive in my current position is positively correlated to the amount I interact with students. I feel that I can make a positive impact on their lives (and showing how to live with a chronic illness is part of that) and, when both offers were on the table, that was the tipping point. 

Reflecting upon the experience, I am interested in how having Parkinson's disease was a variable during my thought process but, in many respects, it was a minor issue. That's the nuance and that's the patient challenge.

How can I properly monitor my health while achieving all that I desire out of life? 

I believe that you can strike a balance between both and, in the upcoming years, I hope to chronicle the mixing of personal aspirations with a careful consideration of my health. My goal remains the same--become a college president--and a stiff right hand or rigid right leg is not going to alter this plan.