Engineering is Gulden for Anderson grad

Joe Gulden

ARCHITECTURAL OFFERINGS — Anderson graduate Joe Gulden has been working for KPFF Consulting Engineers in San Francisco since June of 2006 as a project engineer.

As an eighth-grade student at Anderson Middle School in the mid-90s, Joe Gulden would make his daily trek up the hill to Anderson High School for geometry class.

A decade later, the 24-year-old Anderson grad still has a knack for mathematics and continues to use those talents today. Gulden has been working for KPFF Consulting Engineers in San Francisco since June of 2006 as a project engineer.

The primary focus of Gulden’s work entails seismic retrofitting to protect buildings in the case of an earthquake. According to Gulden, he is also certified to inspect a building and give clearance for entry in case of a disaster situation.

“To keep it simple, we make sure buildings don’t fall over in the event of a catastrophe,” said Gulden.

Gulden credits much of his enthusiasm for mathematics to his high school days at Anderson, where he graduated in 2000. The geometry, algebra II, pre-calculus and calculus classes Gulden took lay the foundation for his budding career interests.

“I enjoyed my time at Anderson High and learned some valuable fundamentals from the instructors there,” said Gulden. “I still use some of the drafting skills I learned in Mr. Kennedy’s class.”

Along with his stellar academic standing at Anderson High, Gulden was also a valuable commodity to the Cubs’ athletic department. Gulden participated in cross country, basketball, soccer and baseball for the Cubs. During his senior year on the diamond, Gulden was selected to the All-NAL squad as a pitcher.

Following high school, Gulden attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study engineering, but along the way he decided to put off his studies and follow his dreams in baseball.

While pitching for Cuesta Junior College, Gulden was a two-time all conference selection and set several school records.

At the end of his two years of junior college baseball, Gulden discovered the risk was indeed worth the reward, as he found his way back to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a baseball player.

In Gulden’s one year of baseball with the Mustangs at Cal Poly, he had the chance to pitch against some of the top NCAA competition in the country and suit up alongside the kin of former big league baseball players Carney Lansford and Mike Krukow. After hanging up his spikes, Gulden earned his bachelor’s of science in architectural engineering in the winter of 2005.

Gulden likes living in San Francisco and has managed to keep himself active by participating in variety of athletic endeavors, but without a doubt, Gulden’s biggest inspiration these days is his work.

“I find the work to be very rewarding,” said Gulden. “It’s fun to walk by one of our finished buildings on the street and think, ‘I helped build that.’”