Talking into a career

Stefen J. Welch, CAS ’05, vice president of public affairs for the Detroit Pistons and a member of the Oakland University Board of Trustees, returned to Oakland University’s campus as part of CAS’ Executive in Residence program to speak with students about his career journey, the value of communication and the importance of community engagement.

While speaking with the students, he emphasized the importance of staying engaged with his communities, including Oakland University and its students.

"I've been here a lot on campus – I didn't disappear for a long time – I continue to find ways to stay engaged with the community," Welch said.

Welch shared insights from his current role with the Pistons, where he works across community partnerships, corporate engagement and storytelling for the organization.

“There’s no day that is the same; it feels like I have a different job every day,” Welch said. “At the end of the day, my role is to evangelize the good work that we do, but then also evangelize the good work that’s going on around us in the area as well.”

Part of Welch’s work focuses on strengthening the organization’s relationship with the city of Detroit. He shared that he does not want to just be in the city of Detroit, but to be a part of the city.

Welch explained that the communication and persuasion skills he developed at Oakland University continue to shape how he works with different organizations. He specifically highlighted the courses taught by Associate Professor of Communication Scott Crabil, which he said offered valuable knowledge in communication and persuasion.

“If I'm advocating for a tax benefit for a development that we’re building, and I'm meeting with a group that’s not necessarily for tax benefits, I can tap into that communication persuasion course,” Welch said.

While his career now centers on public affairs and community engagement, Welch said his professional path was not always as clear when he approached graduation. Originally aiming for broadcasting, inspired by ESPN personality Stuart Scott, he had a deep realization in his final year at Oakland. 

“I wanted to be the next Stuart Scott, but by the time I got to the senior year of my last semester, I realized that wasn’t going to happen,” Welch said.

Instead of following the path he originally planned, Welch said he began thinking about other ways to apply his interests. 

“Let me figure out how I can do something different,” he said. “I still like telling stories, engaging with folk, so I ended up interning at a public relations firm.”

Welch said his experience of graduating during a difficult economic period also shaped the start of his career. This experience required patience as he explored different opportunities.

“It took me a while to figure out what to do, but once again I love connecting with folks, having conversations,” Welch said.

He joked that his natural ability to talk eventually became a professional strength in the classroom and his workplace.

“I love talking – in school, I got in trouble for talking in class, at least I can get paid for it,” Welch said.

While working for the nonprofit, YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, Welch said he used his storytelling and persuasion skills from Oakland, which later became the foundation of his work in public affairs.

“Taking classes such as multicultural communication helped me understand my passion for people, engagement, access and turning that into my own professional story as something I can do on a daily basis,” Welch said.

Outside of his professional work, Welch volunteers throughout Detroit and encourages students to pursue meaningful involvement in their communities.

“You’re going to be involved in a situation where you’re going to remember something that you studied or heard in the classroom and utilize that to your benefit — being a communication major really helps make a well-rounded individual,” Welch said.

Welch discussed the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, describing it as an ongoing commitment rather than a workplace initiative. 

“When we look around the world, and we see that there are certain folks who are not at the table, we should raise our hand and say, ‘Hey, you know, this person isn't here,’ ” Welch said.

He said organizations should actively work to include voices that may be missing from conversations, noting that diverse perspectives help teams make stronger decisions. 

Reflecting on his career, Welch said he remains most proud of being able to serve the city and university that helped shape him.

“I'm most proud of is that I get to do something that impacts a place where I am from, and I try to stay true to so many people. I wouldn't be who I am today without Detroit and Oakland University,” Welch said.