Berger Honored with Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree

On Sunday, August 2, R&CPMK Chairman Cindi Berger addressed the graduating class at her alma mater, Ithaca College, as part of the school’s 125th Commencement ceremony. During her speech, Berger shared keen insights, learnings, and knowledge from throughout her career, and offered valuable advice to help the graduating students as they embark on their own journeys.

In addition, Berger was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ithaca College.

Following are highlights from the main address:

Berger on beginning your journey and what matters most:

“You have the power to use your platform for good. As you go out into the world – whether it’s a new city, or your old bedroom – use it. Be smart. Be thoughtful. Make us laugh with your dance moves. Inspire us with your words. And then, pick up the phone and call. Call that friend who needs a cheerleader. That person whose cause needs elevating. The family who has loved you your entire life. The professors who taught you the last four years. That company you’d love to work for. That’s how you build a network of friends, and do it with honesty and integrity. Because at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.”

Berger on the value of building strong relationships:

“If there’s anything I’ve learned from my career, it’s that relationships – real, meaningful relationships – are grounded in a simple, basic principle. A principle that I learned not at my job, but in my high school geometry class. It’s the principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Often, the shortest distance – the closest connection – comes from being direct and honest; from trusting that others are telling the truth; from avoiding gossip or hearsay and going straight to the source.”

Berger on her career path:

“My career path started one day the summer after graduation, when I was reading Cosmopolitan magazine, and there was an article about celebrity publicists. I said to my friend, ‘I love movies, music, entertainment… I think this is the career for me.’ And that was it. I took my resume, drove into Manhattan, and dropped it off at two different PR firms: Rogers and Cowan and PMK. Today, more than 30 years later, I’m the Chairman of both of those firms. Now, it’s actually one – I merged them last year.”

To watch Berger’s full commencement address, CLICK HERE