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Kenneth Ulrich, APR, MA '68

What do you do?
Since 1994 I have been a public relations consultant, working on my own, for clients in a variety of industries. In 1995 I also began to teach public relations courses, first at the University of California/San Diego, then at San Diego State University. For the past four years I've had a full-time teaching load at SDSU in addition to my consulting. I really enjoy writing, so I do a lot of it in the areas of media relations, employee and member communications, and shareholder relations. I also consult on the overall topic of how and what to communicate to various audiences.

How did you get your job?
Going into business for myself was something I'd long wanted to do. I spent the first 25 years of my professional life working in Corporate America - retail (Montgomery Ward), banking, health care and for state government in New Mexico. By 1994 I decided I should try to go out on my own...and it worked.

Best professional lesson learned at the J-School?
To be a lifelong student of words. The English language has more than 600,000 words in it (one of the wordiest of any language), yet we typically only use several hundred. I remember my professors imploring us to "find just the right word" that conveys the message you're trying to get across.

What is your best advice to current students?
Take a course in basic accounting. Don't worry, you won't have to do a company's books. But you should know how to speak the language of finance, because that's what drives organizations. Know how your employer makes money, and know how your company's finances are impacted by changes in the marketplace. Keep it simple: know what a balance sheet is, what a profit and loss statement is. Also, never stop learning - and using - new words.