Oh, Hello: 2023 Writer Ryan Parsons Commits To Black Shoe Diaries

The Black Shoe Diaries staff grows larger! After an extensive search that spanned a month and a half, we have welcomed three new members to the team!

Last but not least, Ryan Parsons (no relation, that I’m aware of). Ryan also joins us after a tenure at Onward State, so the OS to BSD pipeline is alive and well! Let’s let Ryan introduce himself!

In his own words:

I wish I could say something sappy and interesting here like “I’ve been a Penn State fan my whole life,” or “my dad was a GA on the 1982 national championship team,” or even “Cael Sanderson helped deliver my first child because I got stuck in traffic on North Atherton street,” but the truth is that I’m a Happy Valley bandwagoner through and through.

I attended Penn State basically on a whim and was the first person in my family to do so. I went to my first Nittany Lions football game in 2017 and didn’t even know who James Franklin was. I’ve been an Eagles fan my whole life, but college football was never my jam. However, my sports fandom (not fandom, sorry, I’m a Journalist now) took a detour during my 4.5 years at Penn State.

I joined Onward State my sophomore year and ended up covering the football team as a credentialed reporter for three seasons — it was perhaps the best decision I’ve made in my life. If you want to learn a bit more about my Onward State career, I recommend reading my senior column, which I wrote in the press box after the Rose Bowl. But, the Sparknotes are that I’m the one who broke James Franklin’s Starbucks order. I also watched Drew Allar play football in high school.

I graduated from Penn State in December 2022 with two degrees: one in business from Smeal, and one in journalism from Bellisario. I was originally a film major. Now, I live in Philadelphia (I grew up “just outside of Philly,” but I actually live in the city now) and work remotely at every’s favorite State College-based statistical software company: Minitab. I’m very excited about the opportunity to join BSD and can’t wait to start arguments in the comments section.

My likes: Coffee, protected public land, the Grateful Dead, Zeno’s, Philadelphia sports, trains (the form of public transportation), golf, various other things

My dislikes: Philadelphia sports, Train (the band), Sheetz, Ohio

Please give a warm welcome to our newest writer, Ryan!