The Twenty-year Plan

Nickelodeon exec Cyma Zarghami '00 delivers her own commencement address

Her name should have put her at the end of the line, but Cyma Zarghami received her diploma first at the College of Education and Social Services Commencement ceremony. The distinction celebrated an interrupted journey made complete.

Zarghami, who also was the college’s guest speaker, told the two-hundred-plus other graduates that she began her UVM studies in 1980. “Even after my summer stint, I didn’t actually finish,” she said. “Until today. So I guess you could say I was on the twenty-year plan.” Despite her disappointing leave-taking from UVM, Zarghami has acquitted herself admirably. Melding her literary interests with her original quest to “connect with kids,” she has become a major player in television programming as executive vice president and general manager of Nickelodeon.

Zarghami grew up in Englewood, N.J., the second of four children of first-generation immigrant parents. Her father, Ghoram, a doctor, came from Iran and her mother, Catherine, a nurse, from Scotland. When it came time to choose colleges and career paths, “they couldn’t really guide us,” outside of medicine, she says. However, she’d heard about UVM. “It sounded like a great place.” And, it proved true — eventually. “I made the mistake of not going to orientation, and I didn’t know anyone on campus. I was lost for eighteen months.” As she gradually found “her comfort zone,” her attachment to UVM and the Burlington area grew.

Zarghami began academic life as an elementary education major, but she also delved into liberal arts courses that attracted her. Finally, late in that academic cycle, she changed her major to English. She says now, “I switched majors, but I didn’t connect with anyone” to be sure she had filled requirements. Still, she thought her two summer courses would make it right, so she told Mom and Dad there’d be no graduation ceremony for her in May but all would be well. Zarghami took the traditional, celebratory European trip nonetheless. “My parents never actually knew I hadn’t graduated, because it never came up. They just assumed I had.” Until now. Mom was in the audience in the newly refurbished Gutterson Fieldhouse to see her daughter graduate — and deliver the address. Also present were Zarghami’s husband, George Obergfoll, a stage manager, three-year-old son, Liam, in-laws and assorted other relatives.

Following her European trip, Zarghami returned to Burlington and worked at Business Digest. But after a year, she felt need for the stimulation and challenges of a big city and moved to New York. “I stumbled into a start-up,” she recalls, and took a job as a clerk because the company looked promising. The company was Nickelodeon. She says now, “I feel like I invented the place.” Zarghami rose through the ranks of programming, scheduling and acquisitions. In 1996, she was named general manager and helped launch major programs, including “Nick Jr.,” “SNICK” and “Nicktoons.” “I like what I do. It is a product with a lot of integrity,” she says.

At her commencement ceremony, Zarghami told graduates that Nickelodeon “is a special place because we … strive to be respectful, honest and relevant to kids today.” She outlined her guiding principles, urging graduates to apply them in their education and human service careers. Kids are smart and savvy, she said; listen to them. “Being original and taking risks is an essential part of the creative process.” Therefore, like Nick, expect to have “a few disasters” along the way. Above all, she told graduates, work to create, as she has at Nick, a safe environment for kids – one free of sexual innuendo, prejudice and violence and one that respects privacy. Zarghami’s last dictum — her “personal favorite” — drew cheers from the audience: create “an environment where girls are as smart as boys and where they are equally as cool.”

Unlike many of her peers, Zarghami has found she “loves management. I’m a jack-of-all-trades,” she says. Responsible for overall channel management including programming strategy, scheduling, promotions and on-air creative development for both Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite, she also oversees franchise and affiliate marketing and Nickelodeon GAS, the first games and sports channel for kids. “I love the big picture and putting the puzzle pieces together” to form it, she says.

Her big pictures have proved winners for her company. Under her leadership, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite has been top-rated among all cable networks for four consecutive years. Nickelodeon also reigns as the top network for kids. This year, Zarghami introduced two new hits, “Caitlin’s Way,” a coming-of-age series, and a game show, “Double Dare 2000.” Last year she introduced Nick’s first original Saturday morning series, “SpongeBob SquarePants,” one of her favorites.

She told the graduates that she and they shared similar goals. “For you it is that glimmer in a kid’s eye – that teachable moment that you heard of probably in your first class four years ago. For me it is that spark of joy when we make a show that makes kids laugh out loud…” She left them with this thought: “You are not just going out there to look for a perfect job or career. You are, hopefully, looking for a place that values what you value.” VQ