You Can Go Home Again

Ever since she could remember, Suzanne Brook (B.F.A. ’83, M.S. ’03) was consumed by film and television. After graduating from New York Institute of Technology in the early 1980s, her communication arts degree transported her into dream roles at networks like Starz and American Movie Classics before she landed at Cablevision. 

“I had an amazing career in communications,” says Brook, adding that working for American Movie Classics was one of her more memorable experiences. “I met a lot of celebrities, and I just love film and television, so it was a perfect fit for me.” 

Toward the end of her career with cable provider Cablevision, Brook was working at Radio City Television (under the umbrella of the cable company), which was a subsidiary of Radio City Music Hall. For the project, Brook was working on bringing events at the venue—and the Radio City Rockettes’ performances—to Pay-Per-View. 

When Cablevision decided to shut down the project, Brook opted for a compensation package and went back to school. This time, to study medicine. 

“I wanted to explore the medical field, so I went back to New York Tech for the PA [physician’s assistant] program, and that was the beginning of me changing careers,” she says. Twenty years later, she returned to her alma mater and completed her master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies in 2003. She has served as a physician assistant at Huntington Surgical Dermatology in Huntington, N.Y., for nearly 20 years. “I love dermatology, but it was a really big transition for me. It was not easy, especially at the age I was when I went back.” 

Brook is still connected to the School of Health Professions as a member of the advisory board. In September 2022, she joined the staff as an adjunct professor of dermatology in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. 

Teaching, she reveals, has been one of the most rewarding positions to date. Typically instructing a class of approximately 50 students, Brook admits that, at first, she was challenged by the amount of work that pulling lectures together entails. “The bigger surprise was how much I enjoy doing it,” she says. I think it all ties into my love for learning and constantly wanting to learn new things.”

By Tina Benitez Eves