Bestselling Author Danny Bader Hosts Live Panel on Wisdom and Experience

DeSales University was pleased to welcome bestselling author Danny Bader ’85 back to campus as he hosted a live panel of fellow alumni for Real World Wisdom: A Night of Experience and Insight Through Stories. 

Pat McCall ’85, chief sales officer at ClarionDoor; Joe Mullen ’85, principal at Equus Capital Partners; and Pat Pietrobon ’77, Ph.D., (retired) associate vice president of research and development at Sanofi Pasteur, joined Bader on the panel.  

Over the course of the evening, alumni and current DeSales students had the opportunity to listen to the wisdom and advice of the presenters as well as contribute to the discussion with their own thoughts and questions. 

“Your boat sinks and you’re two miles offshore and you’re going, ‘Positive thinking is this: I’m ok, I’m ok, I’m ok,’” said Bader. “But what you really want is seeing yourself swimming ashore...seeing yourself get through things that don’t go the way we want them to go. And that’s what we really wanted to bring out here, because it happens for all of us. Life’s a journey.” 

With experience on their side, the presenters hoped to encourage their listeners, while also offering the reminder that wisdom only comes through trial and error.  

“If you’re a student out there, sometimes you don’t always get the job you want,” said McCall. “So you suck it up and take the job that’s offered to you and then keep your eyes out for what you really want to do.” 

Having witnessed the death of a friend and barely surviving himself, Bader has set out to inspire others through the story of his past and the wisdom he has gained as a result. 

“Here’s my wisdom for you,” he said, “there is something bigger than us.”