 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
||||
|
Alumni / Success Stories KATE DIETRICH
Contributed by Rossitza
Iordanova
For Kate Dietrich, the most rewarding thing about her job is, “knowing I get up for work every day to help save people’s lives.” Dietrich majored in public relations and minored in psychology at Eastern Michigan University. She also was a member of the Public Relations Student Society of America. During her four years at EMU, she worked part-time in the records department, went to school full-time, and had an internship in the office of public information. She graduated in December 1999 and has been a communications specialist for the American Cancer Society in the southeast Michigan area since 2003. Dietrich has a real personal connection to the cause of the American Cancer Society. She lost her aunt to breast cancer. Since then, several other family members have also been diagnosed with breast cancer. “When I graduated, I really wanted to do non-profit. I lost someone very close to cancer,” said Dietrich.
When she began looking
for a job after graduation, Dietrich discovered that
the majority of non-profit organizations she was
interested in required three to five years of
experience.
So she left her resume on file in the Public Relations Society of America job center. She then spent the next four years working at three different agencies. The bulk of her work consisted of media relations for automotive suppliers. When the regional director of communications for the American Cancer Society came across Dietrich’s resume at the PRSA job center, Dietrich was not looking to change jobs so soon. “I was a little hesitant because it was a huge pay cut, but I’d be doing work that I really care about,” said Dietrich. So she decided to make the change. Now she is responsible for a wide variety of communications activities for her division of ACS, including marketing, media, public relations, crisis intervention, advertising, scripting, and online communications. “In non-profit, it’s hard to get specialized because there’s not a lot of staff. Right here in Michigan it’s just me and I have to wear a lot of hats,” said Dietrich. ACS is the nation’s largest community based non-profit organization of its kind.
Its mission is to raise money to
eliminate cancer through research,
ACS has three annual fundraising events that Michigan residents can get involved in: Relay for Life, Making Strides for Breast Cancer, and a black-tie gala that raises about $1 million. Dietrich believes that it was fate that led her to a fulfilling career with ACS. But she does have one piece of advice for PR students that will be entering the job market. “I would definitely say to do as many different independent things as you could so that when you’re in the job market, it’s easier for you to figure out what you want to do. Do whatever will make you a well-rounded candidate,” said Dietrich.
|
||||
|
||||
education,
advocacy, and patient service. 