Dr. Bryan Mark Rigg '90 recently launched 6th book, "Conquering Learning Disabilities at Any Age"

How An ADHD/LD Kid Graduated From Yale and Cambridge, Became A Marine Officer, Military Historian, Financial Advisor And Caring Father

Fort Worth Christian is pleased to recognize, Dr. Bryan Rigg ‘90, who recently published his 6th book, Conquering Learning Disabilities at Any Age: How An ADHD/LD Kid Graduated From Yale and Cambridge, Became A Marine Officer, Military Historian, Financial Advisor, and Caring Father. 

When speaking to FWC students this past year, Bryan shared his personal journey about failing 1st grade twice and growing up dealing with ADHD, dyslexia and a speech impediment. After a challenging educational journey through fourth grade, including a time at The Starpoint School at TCU for Learning Disabled children, Bryan enrolled at Fort Worth Christian for his fifth grade year in 1983 and attended the school for the rest of his secondary school experience graduating in 1990 with honors. While at FWC, he lettered in three sports: Football, Basketball, and Track. In his senior year, he was co-captain for both the Football and Basketball teams helping them get to the playoffs. In his Senior year, as a Football running back, he ran for 1,521 yards and 21 touchdowns during the 1989 season, and as a Basketball forward, he averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds a game during the 1989-1990 season. Besides starting on these athletic teams, he also was active in the drama department winning numerous awards at competitions throughout the years, most notably earning the Best Actor award during the Three-Act Play competition in 1990 at the Christian Schools Tournament at Abilene Christian University. By his senior year, Bryan was an All-State First Team Running Back, All-State First Team Basketball Forward, and All-State in Drama. And he had come a long way in overcoming his speech impediment and Learning Disabilities with the help from wonderful FWC teachers and coaches like Donna Reynolds (Drama), Cam Prock (Football), Rick Kempe (Football), Tony McCoy (Football), Nan Dean (English), Colonel Ron Beam (Football & Government), Camille Dean (History), Eddie Blackburn (Math), Barbara Treat (French) and Maryann Felps (English). As the ancient words of wisdom state, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and Bryan indeed had a supportive and loving village to help him during his formative years. That is one of the incredible strengths of FWC according to Bryan—“…providing a loving and encouraging environment where children can realize their true potential.” 

After FWC, Bryan decided on an unorthodox approach to bettering himself for an Ivy League education and attended the prep school in New Hampshire, Phillips Exeter Academy, for a fifth-year high school year (also called a Post-Graduate Year). It worked, and Bryan was accepted into Yale University in 1991 and completed his Bachelor of Arts in English, History (with Honors) and German Studies in 1996 and received the prestigious Henry Fellowship to conduct graduate studies at Cambridge University in England where he completed a Master's degree in 1997, and then his Ph.D. in Military History/Holocaust Studies in 2002. His Ph.D. was turned into his first book, Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers which has now been translated into 14 languages and has sold over 70,000 copies worldwide. It received the William E. Colby Award in 2002 for the best military history book of that year and his research was featured on an hour-long program on NBC’s Dateline called Hidden in Plain Sight. Since then, Bryan has published six more books on World War II and the Holocaust. After high school, Bryan also spent years in the military, not just the U.S. armed forces. When he was 21, Bryan discovered that he had some Jewish ancestry. After studying in a yeshiva in Jerusalem for a few months, he decided in the summer of 1998 to volunteer in the Israeli Defense Force and served in an army unit in the Negev. From 1999-2001, Bryan also served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps in Quantico, VA. Bryan graduated with Honors from Officer Candidate School, 6th of 270 Candidates, in 1999 and then was a scholar in the Warfighting Lab at The Basic School until 2001. After his time in the military, Dr. Rigg taught military history at American Military University for six years and later at Southern Methodist University for three years. He also taught Summer School at Phillips Exeter Academy for two sessions. Dr. Rigg has also worked on Wall Street and most recently has built a successful financial services firm in Dallas that he currently runs named Rigg Wealth Management, LLC. He is the proud father of three children. 

During his time at FWC, besides the accomplishments already mentioned, Bryan received the English award twice and was involved in numerous organizations such as Student Council, Drama Club, and the Teens for Christ club (co-founder). He was also voted “Most Athletic” during his Senior year. Other awards in his final year at FWC were "Most Friendly" and "Best All-Around." He considers his time at FWC as having given him many valuable foundational stones for his success saying: “FWC pushed me to play different sports and actively learn topics in small classrooms. As I look back on my life, I am so honored to have had so many loving mentors and encouraging teachers to help me improve myself intellectually, athletically, and sociologically. It was a magical place that helped me develop a healthy self-esteem and a “can-do” attitude with anything I set my mind to—I am indeed a stronger person today because of the experience FWC gave me.” 

Click here to find all of Dr. Rigg's books on Amazon