Prattfolio connected with the members of Pratt’s Young Alumni Leadership Group, a program of Pratt Alumni Engagement, to talk about where they landed after Pratt, changing paths, and what’s energizing them now. Shane Davis, BArch ’17, a senior project manager at a New York City architecture firm, says he gets to “experience the full journey of a project, from inception to iteration, permitting to build and removal, hundreds of times a year.”
What was your first job after graduation from Pratt?
My first job after graduation was total serendipity, the result of putting myself in the place to create opportunity, and the combination of experiences and interests aligning in a way that I hadn’t believed possible. Working as an event planner for Program Board while studying architecture didn’t seem like a likely avenue to full-time employment, but you never know what exists unless you at least take the steps toward discovery. For me, that was simply attending the career fair in the ARC and putting myself out there. Never did I think that special-event architecture existed, but it’s become my career after a fateful meeting with a small firm on that early, cold morning that I debated skipping for an extra bit of sleep.
What’s your favorite part of the work you’re doing now?
Almost eight years later, after many ups and downs, I am still at that small firm that took a chance on me. Every day I get to work on something new: sometimes elaborate things like massive festivals and fashion shows, other times something as small as an opening party or a simple art installation. I get to experience the full journey of a project, from inception to iteration, permitting to build and removal, hundreds of times a year, which is something very few others can claim.
“It might just be that hobby or experience that you secretly love but are told to hide . . . that is actually the key to your future.”
Is there an experience you had at Pratt that prepared you especially well for your career?
I always like to remind others that the most important experience I had was pursuing the things I enjoyed with equal importance to those things expected of me. If I had solely and wholly devoted myself to just one aspect of my passion I would not have met the prerequisites for the career that I didn’t expect, that combined multiple of my interests. So [to students] my advice is simply to use this time to keep learning and exploring, because it might just be that hobby or experience that you secretly love but are told to hide on your resume or in your portfolio that is actually the key to your future.
What advice do you have for a student about to enter their next chapter, work after graduation?
Don’t give up. Don’t forget who you are, and that when you are hired, it’s always for a reason. Don’t be afraid to zig when others tell you to zag . . . sometimes the bend in the river is the right way even if you can’t see the other side.
What’s inspiring you now?
Most of my inspiration is from finding balance. One aspect that isn’t talked about enough is how to turn off the grind. Oftentimes people learn in school that if they aren’t working toward their primary goal that they are wasting time, but once you graduate you will most likely have a lot more free time than you’ve had in a long time. Go do those things that bring you joy even if they aren’t productive. Achieving your goals or creating your masterpiece is as much about your lazy recharge days as it is your concerted efforts.