INSIDE HIGHER ED — Neuroscientists and psychologists are moving toward a deeper appreciation of our inherent human neurodiversity. We are all differently abled. The majority are neurotypical—or statistically “normal”—while others are more statistically rare. For one of us, Ashley, a graduate student with bipolar disorder, her brain falls into this “statistically rare” category. Although her particular neurodiversity may have advantages—bipolar disorder is associated with enhanced creativity—she faces challenges that the average graduate student does not. Bipolar disorder is characterized by discrete episodes of depression and mania that interfere with daily functioning. One might think that graduate training would become impossible during these episodes, but Ashley has found the opposite to be true. Her academic work has kept her grounded and gives her purpose. With the help of her academic advisers Adam and Eve, the co-authors of this piece, she has developed strategies that allow her to work during mood episodes so that her progress toward a Ph.D. is unimpeded.