Following an adventurous and tumultuous five years at Northeastern, Rick says his life continued to follow the same path.
His co-op job at The Patriot Ledger turned into a career foundation for nine more years which led then to a brief stint as managing editor, simultaneously, for three international telecommunications magazines. That was followed by a directorship for the U.S. subsidiary of BASF as public affairs director.
After that company was downsized and closed in the early ’90s, he opened his own PR and advertising consultancy which led to a partnership with a client and ultimately their own advertising, marketing, merchandising, training and PR company, which triggered the founding of an interior design magazine.
Along the way, his daughter and son came along, each with some interesting stories of their own. He was widowed in 2010 and married a woman he met at his late wife’s funeral.
Currently, he is ghostwriting an autobiography and wrapping up a book of fictional ghost stories related to different American wars and conflicts.
Born into a family of teachers and storytellers, one of the things he learned is that everyone has more than one story; one just must dig them out.
Other important lessons he has learned include:
1) The people you think you know and trust generally will fail you and the corollary…
2) Many people who cross your path have huge and positive influence on your personality and path, but you will not know it until late in the game.
Rick reflects: “The Grateful Dead were right: ‘…what a long, strange trip it’s been.’”
Rich Howland is a 1970 graduate of Northeastern University with a degree in Liberal Arts.