We asked Ronald and Brendan to reflect on their time playing athletics at Gallaudet and the importance of family, tradition and sports. Below are their responses.

How would you describe your playing days at Gallaudet?
Ronald: It was a thrill every time I put on my Gallaudet uniform. I know this is a cliché but this is the truth. Sports have always been a big part of my essence and being able to play college ball and for Gallaudet too represented the ultimate dream. To this day, I am extremely thankful I was able to achieve something that I had thought was somewhat beyond me, in part because of my mainstreamed background and limited participation experience in athletics. All in all, sports were a core, indispensable element of my Gallaudet experience and a significant reason why I loved it there.

Brendan: It'd have to be "a dream come true." I did not only have the thankful opportunity to be a part of one of the most successful teams in Gallaudet history but also to live out a childhood aspiration, which was, quite simply, to play on the hardwood for the Bison. 

Did you have added pressure because your father played sports at Gallaudet?
Brendan: Depends on what you mean by "pressure." My father will be the first to admit that he has more fingers than career wins at Gallaudet but, yes, I was certainly motivated to represent not only my family but also the Gallaudet community. To borrow a famous phrase from Edmund Burke: "People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors." I wasn't simply playing basketball on the collegiate level. Neither were my teammates. We were also playing for a community, linking the past with the present, adding extraordinary meaning to games.

Describe your feelings watching Brendan playing athletics at Gallaudet?
Ronald: As is the case for many parents, watching your child play is special. The biggest drawback to living a long ways from D.C. while our children were at Gallaudet has easily been our general inability to watch them in action. How I wish I was able to have been in the stands observing and cheering Bren and his team on more often. That said, considering how Brendan’s playing career turned out, I’m proud of what he’s accomplished.

What was the most important thing your father ever taught you and why?
Brendan: To always hustle, even when basketball is not being played. My father grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan – he never lets me forget it - while I grew up in suburbia where manicured lawns and "take it easy" catcalls were commonplace. There are still times when I want to, and do, take it easy, but it's often followed by a guilt trip.

Why was it important for you to attend Gallaudet?
Brendan: Gallaudet was a place where I wouldn't be "the deaf guy," which was largely my nametag when I attended a hearing high school in Southern California. Instead, at Gallaudet, I was generally known as the slow Jewish point guard who ran an underground newspaper in his spare time. It is difficult for me to imagine a worthwhile collegiate experience without the freedom to decide the dominant identity of one’s own choosing, and this is why I attended Gallaudet.

What advice would you give to deaf athletes thinking about playing at Gallaudet? Brendan: Just do it. Gallaudet often seems like a scary place but I have yet to meet a student-athlete here, including deaf and hard of hearing students without experience with sign language or deaf people before enrolling, who has regretted attending Gallaudet. Come and visit, at least, to see what Gallaudet is all about, which is, in fact, not dissimilar from other universities in the D.C. metro area: an accessible and useful Liberal Arts education in the Nation's capital.

Why is it important for families to encourage athletics?
Ronald: The mind and body are incredibly interdependent of one another. Also, experiencing and overcoming adversity is indispensable in life. In athletics, such challenging experiences are varied and plentiful, and this has critical ramifications for one's whole person development.