Todd Kuhns
February 25, 2020
Todd Kuhns (2019).
Todd Kuhns has spent most of his career in educational technology and marketing. After teaching at a Japanese high school for three years, he led web development and IT curriculum support at Truman State University. He was the web integration manager for nearly 10 years, eventually directing the university’s online/social media recruitment efforts. While in Kirksville, he started a local brick-and-mortar business, served as mayor, and founded a busy digital marketing company.
After moving to Beijing in 2016, he helped found Riverside Scholastic International Kindergarten, Scholastic’s first school worldwide, and served as principal for two years. He now consults for other early education schools in China, works regularly as a voiceover artist, and helps foreign companies succeed in the Chinese app market as the marketing manager for AppInChina.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in December 2000 with a Journalism concentration.
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
I played in the Statesmen Marching Band and Concert Band, I was a member of the Franklin Street Singers, was the station manager at KTRM-FM, and was a member of the Swing Dancing Club, Phi Mu Alpha, and KNEU-TV (now TMN-TV).
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait? Why?
I waited for a while because I never planned to get my Master’s Degree. But later, when I returned to Truman to work there in 2005, I took advantage of the University’s tuition discount and flexibility for staff to attend classes during the day. I received my MA in English in 2008.
What was your first job after graduation?
Intern in the Governor’s office at the Missouri State Capitol , but after that stint, I moved to Japan to teach English in a public Japanese high school under the JET Program.
Announcement of Todd’s internship in the Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal (April 2, 2001).
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
Right now, I live in Beijing and am Marketing Manager for AppInChina. Since Google Play is blocked in China, we help foreign companies publish their apps on the top 15 Chinese Android App stores so they can access the 1.1 billion users here not served by Google Play. We also provide localization, monetization, local hosting, and other such services to help their apps succeed in the Chinese market.
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
It has strengthened by communication and writing skills, which I have found absolutely essential for any job that I have ever had. My Liberal Arts education has helped me cultivate a wide variety of interests and exposed me to different topics and subjects that make it very easy for me to network with others. I find it easy to have conversations with people in social settings because there is always some “hook” in my past experience or an interest that I can hang some chat onto.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
There honestly aren’t many classes at Truman I remember disliking. I usually found something worthwhile in each of them.
Todd and his son hanging out in the office (2018).
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
Working my way up to Station Manager of KTRM felt pretty good, especially because it came from simply volunteering my time and trying to find some ways to contribute to the station as it transitioned from off-air into on-air. I wrote up and recorded some weekly feature pieces on campus and Kirksville history before I ever took a news or radio class, and was suddenly in line for the News Director position. After a year of that, I became one of the first voices online and the first manager of the station as it became KTRM and broadcast over the FM transmitter for the first time.
Todd and the famiily on vacation (2017).
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
It’s a safe, healthy, and social environment filled with driven and active students. The barrier to entry into any club, interest group, class, or project is extremely low, so you can try out many different things and fill up your bank of experiences. That extends into the city, where there are just as many opportunities to get involved and branch out. Some students have even run for city council, started businesses, and gotten heavily involved in the community before they even graduated. I think of Kirksville as a fantastic “personal incubator.”
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
Get involved in all the campus media. Just get a taste of what it’s like to write for the paper, put together news packages for the radio and TV, and get out into the community to write your stories. It will open up a world for you, sharpen many skills at once, give you just a taste of the thrill of working under deadline pressure, and really let you know what you are made of.
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Study people. Stay open and non-judgmental and really, really interested in psychology and getting into the mentality of others. The ability to empathize will keep you grounded, sane, and open to opportunities in life. The ability to navigate face-to-face social situations and speak to large groups of people at a moment’s notice without fear is essential. Actually, it’s a fantastic life skill to have no matter what field you go into. This is the Liberal Arts of Life.
If you could come back to Truman and teach a class for a semester, what would be its title and what would it be about?
Networking 101: How to Connect with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere in the World. It would be about the importance of socializing/networking, how to do it well, how to stay engaged with people (even people you don’t particularly like), how to speak to a group confidently, and how to identify and maximize opportunities.
Todd connecting with a group at the Riverside Scholastic International Kindergarten (2015).
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
I miss the endless social opportunities and the feeling that you can do almost anything you want. I also miss going to classes and learning just for the sake of learning, and coming out of those classes having produced something substantial (usually a term paper). So much of life does not work so neatly.
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
Even nearly 20 years later, I’m convinced now more than ever that a liberal arts education is the most future-proof formal education you can receive. Instead of complaining about required courses and being forced to do things, allow yourself to be forced outside of your comfort zones and your current interests. If you can at least fake a curiosity about something, it will at best develop into real curiosity – at the very least, you’ll stay somewhat sane as you get through your day. I wasn’t thinking about these things at all when I first enrolled at Truman. Now, I’m so glad I stumbled into it anyway.
Todd and his (now) wife Bich horsing around after graduation (2000).