{"id":15489,"date":"2025-10-24T21:20:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T21:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15489\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T21:20:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T21:20:27","slug":"leadership-and-career-readiness-take-center-stage-at-presidential-lecture-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/15489\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership and Career Readiness Take Center Stage at Presidential Lecture Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brooklyn College students had the rare opportunity to hear firsthand from Paul Griggs<\/a>, a senior leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), during an engaging Presidential Lecture Series<\/a> event with President Michelle J. Anderson.<\/p>\n

Held in partnership with the New York Jobs CEO Council and attended by more than 160 people, the student-focused talk kicked off with a dynamic introduction by the council\u2019s executive director, Kiersten Barnet. Before the main discussion, faculty from Brooklyn College\u2019s Koppelman School of Business hosted an insightful roundtable, where they exchanged ideas with Griggs, Barnet, and Anderson on key topics in accounting and business strategy. The event also included a workshop for students with New York Jobs CEO Council representatives that focused on jobs readiness.<\/p>\n

\"Attended<\/p>\n

Attended by more than 160 people, the Presidential Lecture Series event on October 23 with Paul Griggs centered on the critical skills that drive professional success and how leadership is evolving in today\u2019s ever-changing workforce.<\/p>\n

Griggs began the main lecture by introducing PwC\u2014one of the largest professional services firms in the world, employing more than 370,000 people across 150 countries and territories. He explained the firm\u2019s three major practice areas: assurance, tax, and consulting, each powered by professionals from diverse disciplines, including accounting, data science, and engineering.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his own journey, Griggs shared how he came to accounting \u201cby accident.\u201d Growing up in a small South Carolina town, he initially aspired to become a doctor, until a hospital visit made him reconsider. \u201cI realized quickly I wasn\u2019t cut out for medicine,\u201d he joked. Instead, he turned to accounting\u2014\u201cthe language of business\u201d\u2014because it offered stability and opportunity. That \u201caccident,\u201d he said, led to a 30-year career at PwC that opened doors he never imagined possible.<\/p>\n

Throughout the conversation, Griggs emphasized that accounting provides a foundation for limitless career paths. \u201cOnce you understand the language of business, you can do anything,\u201d he said, noting that many PwC alumni now lead in industries from banking to health care.<\/p>\n

A major theme of the discussion was technology and artificial intelligence. Griggs urged students not to fear technological change but to \u201cplay, experiment, and explore.\u201d He noted that PwC professionals already integrate large language models and AI tools into their daily work. \u201cAI won\u2019t replace your job,\u201d he said. \u201cBut someone who knows AI might.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Anderson steered the conversation toward soft skills, asking what qualities matter most in the future of accounting.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Paul Griggs encouraged students in attendance to believe in themselves and take chances: \u201cSay yes, even when you\u2019re not sure you\u2019re ready. You belong in every room you walk into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griggs\u2019s response was passionate and personal: \u201cYou already have what it takes\u2014grit, attitude, curiosity, and the ability to connect with people.\u201d He reminded students that success is built through hard work and persistence, quoting Kobe Bryant\u2019s philosophy that \u201cthe journey itself is the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also spoke candidly about failure and resilience, recounting career disappointments that ultimately led him to his current leadership role. \u201cSometimes you don\u2019t get what you think you want,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s often because something better is waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about mentorship, Griggs credited both professional and personal mentors\u2014from professors to parents\u2014for shaping his journey. \u201cYou\u2019re already a mentor and a mentee,\u201d he told students. \u201cPeople are watching you and learning from you every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Griggs also fielded questions from students. Closing the event, he encouraged them to believe in themselves and take chances: \u201cSay yes, even when you\u2019re not sure you\u2019re ready. You belong in every room you walk into.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the Presidential Lecture Series at Brooklyn College<\/p>\n

The Presidential Lecture Series features Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson in conversation with high-profile leaders, exposing students and the extended college community to inspiring ideas, courageous leadership, and models of civic engagement and civil discourse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn College students had the rare opportunity to hear firsthand from Paul Griggs, a senior leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,11309,9,24,63,11310],"class_list":["post-15489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-michelle-j-anderson","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-presidential-lecture-series"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}