When Dan Law (MPIA ’12) came to Pitt in 2010, he didn’t stand out from many of his classmates. “I didn’t have anything particularly auspicious about my background, my test scores, or my work experience up to that point,” he said yesterday, chatting with a room full of current students as part of Career Development's Careers & Coffee series.
What he did have was a keen interest in the subject area and the determination to work hard.
Upon arriving on campus, Law jumped in with both feet. He served as president of the student cabinet, worked as a student employee within the Student Services department of the school, and used the two years he spent here learning from as many practitioners as he could.
“I just started saying yes. I think that’s probably the best advice I can give someone early in their career.”
He loved one of his public administration courses, and at the recommendation of his professor, took his first step into the world of public service with a three-month fellowship with the Heinz Endowments. From there he went to work for the City of Pittsburgh Mayor’s office, conducting research and writing policy analysis, and later was hired as a program officer at the World Affairs Council from a pool of over 300 applicants.
Today, Law is the Associate Director of the Andy Warhol Museum, where he is overseeing the development of the organization’s ‘Pop District.’ An $80 million, ten-year initiative focused on transforming the eastern North Shore through the power of arts, creativity, and economic development, Law’s vision includes youth education and training programs, public art installations, a live music venue, and a home for creative workplace development.
Something Law kept coming back to as he spoke with students and answered questions was the importance that making connections and fostering relationships played his journey.
“It takes a lot of work,” he admitted. “I was always having coffee and conversations with people, finding people to mentor me and coach me, then finding ways to contribute to what they were doing. And it’s hard, I didn’t get paid, nothing about it was financially advantageous, but I was building political capital and connections.”
His final piece of advice for students? Take advantage of the opportunities this time in graduate school will offer.
“This is brag time: my stuff’s been in the NY Times, it’s in every art and culture publication around the world, if I pick up the phone, I can talk to anybody. And I couldn’t say that in 2010. And this isn’t just some platitude toward grad school. It was really hard… But use this time with intention and focus.”