Prince of Tides: Stephen Berger (Trinity 1982)
Photo: Stephen Berger (Trinity 1982), former CUBC President with daughter Helen (center photo) attending the Henley Royal Regatta.
Stephen Berger (Trinity 1982) remembers that on his first visit to Cambridge he was struck by the beauty of the University buildings and the town itself. He also recalls the Cambridge Boat Club meeting he had during that trip. As an undergraduate at Dartmouth, he had been captain of the heavyweight rowing team with impressive performance credentials, and yet there was no direct pitch to come to Cambridge to row for the Light Blues.
“I’d had one meeting with the president of the club before I applied. He made no effort to recruit or sell the club or talk to me about the experience,” said Berger.
It didn’t matter. Berger was all in. At Cambridge he became president of the CUBC and rowed two races. He did the hard work and learned tough lessons.
“We lost both races,” Berger said, smiling. “You don’t want to come in second at the Boat Race. I rowed in 1983 and 84. In 84 we hit a barge, which was probably the most humiliating.”
He also notes that in 1984 his crew was up against an Oxford crew with two Olympic gold medalists on board and that his team beat the course record even if they didn’t beat Oxford. Looking back, Berger celebrates the spirit of the team and the strong friendships he made and maintains to this day. “We were one of the most embarrassing crews to take to the water for the Cambridge University Boat Club and yet we were, and are still, embraced.”
Berger, who was raised in the US, felt a strong pull to apply to Cambridge for a second undergraduate degree after Dartmouth. As a scholar of medieval history, the centuries-old architecture was especially poignant. “You can walk those streets and really feel it. It’s an amazing thing to imagine when those colleges were coming out the ground.” His father studied history at Trinity, and Berger was keen to follow in his footsteps. He also wanted to continue his collegiate rowing career. “I knew at the end of my four years [at Dartmouth], I wasn’t done as a rower -- I wanted something more. Was it the rowing or was it my father’s experience or my love of history? It was a great chance to put all three together. I love Cambridge. It’s an incredible place to visit, as well as to live and study. ” said Berger. “I had a wonderful experience over there. I still see my tutor when I go back. God bless him. John Londsdale, he is a very long serving academic and a wonderful man.”
After finishing his studies at Cambridge, Berger moved to Singapore, then Hong Kong, then Indonesia for a successful career in finance. Today, living back in the US, Berger has kept in closer touch with the rowing communities at both Dartmouth and Cambridge. He not only watches the Boat Race each April, either from the banks of the Thames or on television, but he also actively scouts for new talent for Cambridge. “When I go and watch practices at Dartmouth, I tell the boys who are graduating they should think about studying and rowing at Cambridge. I’ve got three in the squad over in Cambridge right now. I’m thrilled to help nurture that pipeline.”
Most recently, Berger was elected as a trustee at the CUBC Foundation. A matter of pride and commitment, he said.
Reflecting on the differences between American collegiate rowing and his athletic career at Cambridge, he marveled.
“It’s a very odd experience, frankly, to have a singular race be the focus for a whole year's worth of training, for it all to come down to 15 minutes of competition. I was used to a calendar where at Dartmouth we raced every Ivy League school, and in multi-lane championships throughout the year. But CUBC has a singular focus, one event, and one-pointed rivalry. It takes you a while to get that under your skin, but once it does, boy, it really does.”