Morgan van den Berg is a graduate student in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations.

Before I understood public relations as a profession, I understood what drew me to it: storytelling, people and serving my community.

So when I started at Michigan State University in 2020 as one of the first students in the new public relations major, I entered the field with more curiosity than certainty. My mom told me I would be good at PR, and my first thought was, "What even is that?" Still, like any good daughter, I followed her advice. Looking back, she planted a seed that my years at MSU would teach me how to grow.

University marks a distinctive season of life, a threshold between who we have been and who we are becoming. At MSU, the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Communications, Arts and Sciences shaped that transformation for me.

I found a community that challenged me, believed in me and expanded my sense of what was possible. They deepened my passion and showed me that PR is far more than the cynical “spin doctor” label it sometimes receives. At its best, public relations practices stewardship. It tends trust with patience, intention and care, knowing relationships only grow when people nurture them.

Dr. Chuqing Dong, assistant professor of AD+PR, helped cultivate my growth. As my professor, advisor and mentor, she invited me into research during my sophomore year, changing my academic trajectory. Throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies, I served as her research and learning assistant. In those roles, I strengthened my understanding of the field and found my voice as a scholar.

From there, my journey became a whirlwind. I presented at the International Public Relations Research Conference in 2023-26, studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea, to broaden my global perspective, and later co-authored award-winning and published research on PR ethics in the generative AI era. I even had the unforgettable opportunity to present one of our studies in Bled, Slovenia, at BledCom 2025, which still feels surreal. My experiences did more than build my résumé; they shaped my sense of purpose.

That passion led me into the advertising and public relations master’s program on the thesis track and strengthened my commitment to connect scholarship with practice. Now, as a graduate student and public relations assistant strategist at Piper & Gold, I work at the intersection of both worlds and see how deeply each one needs the other.

Research has taught me that meaningful progress rarely begins with easy answers. It begins with humility, dialogue and the courage to remain present in uncertainty.

My thesis explores how dialogue can help people navigate difficult conversations around generative AI with more openness, care and ethical sense-making. In many ways, it’s a natural extension of my own journey. I came to MSU because I loved connection, and I stayed because this college taught me how powerful connection becomes when scholarship, courage and heart shape it.

One of my favorite quotes from Brené Brown is: “Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.” As I prepare to graduate this spring, I carry that lesson with me. I hope to become the kind of scholar and professional who meets uncertainty with openness, pursues innovation with integrity and uses communication to bring people closer.