Mark Ciardi ’83, Producer Behind “Miracle” and “The Rookie,” Offers Career Lessons During Dean’s Distinguished Speakers Series Event

Here are five insights that Ciardi shared during the event:

Be fearless. To Ciardi, the University of Maryland is synonymous with entrepreneurship and fearlessness. The grit, toughness and willingness to pursue a vision are values that he said were instilled in him as a student and that permeate through current and future students. “I think this school provided me, my brother and my sisters with the tools we needed to go out there and succeed,” Ciardi said. He also shared that the UMD and the Smith School are “incredibly highly ranked” and that students should take advantage of their time on campus by putting that fearless mindset into practice.

“Go through doors, be uncomfortable and be smart about the chances you take. That, combined with hard work, will lead to good things,” said Ciardi. “My business is all about rejection, failures and hearing the word ‘no’ about 95% of the time. You’ll get bad news and rejections, but then you have to look for that next door.”

Give everyone the time of day. Ciardi’s line of work requires consistently pitching and selling stories to studios, which necessitates forming good relationships. He had urgency in cultivating those relationships as he transitioned from the MLB to the film industry at age 37, starting by connecting with others on a similar trajectory, such as assistants and young executives. Those interactions, he said, are what people remember and are ultimately foundational in a person’s reputation within the industry. 

“I knew I wanted to be kind to everyone. People remember that they’d rather be down the road with someone they like rather than someone they don’t like,” said Ciardi. “Relationships might not always result in what you want them to do, but eventually, people will want to help you, and I think it’s karmic. Better things will happen with kindness, and in today’s age, it’s even more important to reinforce that.”

Figure out your story. Inspiration and conflict are Ciardi’s benchmarks for telling the next great story on the big screen. In his mind, “conflict is something to overcome,” and his own baseball journey involved overcoming an ankle injury in college and battling the internal doubt that came with it. The same structure applies to life because “people fall and they get back up,” and today’s students, especially, understand that there’s “never a straight path to success.” He encouraged students to understand their own stories and maintain a mindset of overcoming adversity.  

“You have to start here to get there, and there will always be bumps along the way,” said Ciardi. “I think dealing with failure is the best lesson to learn. Whether it was baseball or the film business, you learn to deal with things all the time in life. Make adversity your strength, your scar tissue. After all, even the great ones struggle, too.”

Be patient and impatient. One story Ciardi cited as one he would like to bring to life is John Grisham’s “Playing for Pizza,” a 2007 novel about a disgraced NFL quarterback whose career leads him to the Italian Football League and forces him to adjust to a new country, language and culture. Ciardi said it’s a story he’s been chasing for roughly nine years, hoping to eventually earn the opportunity to do it justice on the big screen, and one that’s taught him lessons in persistence.

“You have to be persistent, patient, but also impatient. It’s like pushing a rock up a hill. I’ve always loved the story, and have just kept checking in over the years. You don’t want to be a pain, but you want to be present and insistent,” said Ciardi. “Sometimes, that’s what it takes to get a little crack in the door.”

Embrace an underdog mindset. Despite the hurdles and uncertainty Ciardi faced in his career pivot to films, he already knew what it felt like to succeed in the face of significant challenges. After being drafted by the Brewers in the 15th round of the 1983 MLB June Amateur Draft, Ciardi ascended through the ranks of the Minor League system, earning opportunities to pitch at the highest level during the 1987 MLB regular season. Succeeding against those types of odds “gives you a kind of invincible feeling,” he said. He harkened back to those feelings in his 2017 university commencement speech and reiterated their importance to students in attendance.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge being in the film industry, but I pitched in front of 40,000 people and climbed the biggest mountain in baseball. I didn’t have fear because I already knew I had nothing to lose,” said Ciardi. “I’ve always viewed myself as an underdog, and it’s a good outlook to have when you’re young because nothing will be given to you. In your career, you might interview for a job with two openings and a hundred candidates. Someone has to go get that job, why not you?”