#IAm Mike Royal

First Dog

I was diagnosed with a retinal degenerative disease, retinitis pigmentosa, in kindergarten. By the summer after high school graduation, I was legally blind as I had less than 20 degrees of remaining central vision. Nevertheless, I could still see things directly in front of me and read normal-sized paper documents and computer screens. Most of my college life I tried to hide my blindness.

In January 1994, I started my internal auditing career with Union Pacific's corporate audit staff. They offered me both the internal auditor and IT auditor position. These two offers were the only ones I received. Lucky for me, Union Pacific could see past the dog and base their hiring decision on my academic and prior employment accomplishments.

Certified Dog

Fast forward a few years to May 1, 2002, which is my CIA certification date. My vision loss journey had traveled through the magnification, reverse images, large font, and fatty pen stages of blindness. Because I could no longer read paper documents or see the computer screen, the IIA's certification staff and I had to come up with an alternative way for me to complete the CIA exam. Ultimately, a copy of the screen-reading software I use was installed on a computer at the IIA's headquarters so I could take the exam onsite.

Puppy Play Time

I competed in my first U.S. Disabled Water Ski National Championship tournament during the same time that I was taking the CIA exam. The IIA's headquarters and the tournament lake were located near each other in Florida. Since then, I have competed in world championships held in the U.S., France, and Australia.

I also ran 20 marathons over a 10-year running career, beginning in 1988. The first blind competition award I won was third place at the 1993 Boston Marathon, which set me on a quest to make a paralympic or world championship team. Ultimately, I was never fast enough to make an international running team. However, I did finally realize my dream to win an international individual gold medal in waterskiing at the 2019 International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation World Disabled Waterski Championships in Norway.

Have Dog Will Travel

As I traveled the globe over the years with the assistance of my five guide dogs, I have shared with students, corporations, and clubs my "can-do" story. I attempt to keep my presentations light and full of humor, as I describe how getting my first guide dog allowed me to accept blindness, and subsequent journeys have taught me to advocate for myself and other guide dog users.

Puppy Love

Back in 1998, while sharing my "can-do" story during a membership drive with a focus on how athletics and exercise played an important role in my life, I found myself distracted by the young lady who managed the corporate fitness center. My wife and I have been married over 20 years now and are raising a teenage daughter and son. Collectively I refer to them as The Royal Family Boat Crew. I cannot thank the crew members enough for all the support they provided during my work and athletic careers.

Future Dog

Having taken an early retirement package in November 2019, this January represented the start of my third calendar year of retirement after a 25-year internal auditing career. It is probably past time that I volunteer and give a little something back to the profession that allowed me to support a family, fund my athletic pursuits, travel the world, and meet so many interesting people along the way.

Looking forward, I plan to volunteer with the IIA's learning management team as they enhance the accessibility of their courses, pen another blog post or two on diversity, equity, and inclusion and, perhaps, speak at your local IIA chapter.

Has Your Inner Dog Been Awakened?

In 2022, will you volunteer your talents to support the IIA or some other organization? Maybe you have been inspired to pursue a new sport or certification. If you elect to take the CIA exam, I challenge you to do it with your eyes closed…trust me you "Can Do" it.