When Cynthia Ulrich became the programming vice president for the Weber State University Student Association in 2011, she didn’t think planning events would someday lead to a career. Ulrich is now a project assistant and farmers market coordinator for Downtown Ogden Inc.
Ulrich graduated from WSU with a degree in elementary education.
“I wanted to be a teacher since I was in third grade; that’s what I wanted to do,” Ulrich said. “But when I got involved in student government and started planning events, it opened my eyes and I thought, ‘Oh, I like this too.'”
Ulrich said that even though she isn’t a teacher, the things she learned as an elementary education major still has a lot of pertinence and influence on her as an event planner for Downtown Ogden Inc.
“As I’ve been involved in it, I still get to work with children,” she said. “As I plan events, I am able to make sure they are family-friendly and a lot of them are child-oriented.”
Downtown Ogden Inc. is dedicated to promoting the advancement of arts, natural history, music, theater and dance in Weber County. It maintains and present events at the amphitheater, The Junction and farmers markets. Ulrich began working with the organization in April. Because the summertime is the busy season for Downtown Ogden Inc., Ulrich has already helped with many events such as Ogden Restaurant Week, Tunes at Noon, Talent in the Park, Monday Night Movies and First Friday Art Stroll.
Ginny Stout, the director of arts for Downtown Ogden Inc., said that when Ulrich started working for the company, she became an asset right away, as Stout had a family emergency and the person who was training Ulrich was in the hospital delivering her baby.
“Because of her experience, Cynthia was able to pick up and run with it, which proved to be invaluable,” Stout said. “If it wasn’t for her, things could have really fallen apart, but she was able to keep things moving.”
Ulrich said getting this job was in part attributable to the networking she did when she was a WSU student and the vice president of programming.
“We hear it a lot — networking, networking, networking — and it really is huge,” Ulrich said. “You need to make a name for yourself while you are still in school, because it creates such a web of connections when you are out of school.”
Ulrich didn’t actually apply for the position with Downtown Ogden Inc. The company approached her after having seen her display herself as a leader and event planner during the WSU homecoming events, which Ulrich organized as vice president of programming alongside Ogden City and Downtown Ogden Inc.
“I have never had a job in my whole life that I did not get without knowing someone,” Ulrich said. “Every job I’ve gotten was a result of knowing somebody or somebody referring me.”
Ulrich said Nancy Collinwood, who is now with Alumni Relations, was her adviser when she was programming vice president.
“She taught me to be organized and make a good name for myself, to prioritize and start planning events early on,” Ulrich said. “All of these things that she taught me are helping me today with my career.”
Collinwood said Ulrich was a great student leader and is bound to do great things planning events for the city of Ogden. Ulrich is on the Young Alumni Board at WSU and stays in contact with Collinwood through her alumni involvement.
