Meet Justin Dandoy!
By: Malia Savas
Though Justin began his role as the Director of PittServes just a few months ago, he’s been connected to PittServes for a long time through his doctoral research and work as a campus partner. Previously, he served as the Director of Community Affairs in the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs, where he worked together with PittServes on many of its major service events such as Civic Action Week and Signature Days of Service. So far, Justin describes a “day in the life” as working with his team and supporting the PittServes staff, student leaders, and campus and community partners. Each member of the team brings something different to the table.
“While I have a background in higher education, community engagement, and student affairs, many of our other team members have backgrounds in nonprofit leadership, public service like AmeriCorps, or other community spaces,” said Justin. “Even if the folks on our team come to the table with a particular background and skillset, we end up getting to learn about and engage in a variety of connections within community-university spaces.” Justin majored in Political Science and English Writing as an undergraduate, and found that his background helped him build a foundation to understand and navigate the civic and democratic engagement spaces that are crucial to the work of PittServes.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with University initiatives that are driven by students,” said Justin. “We have wonderfully passionate students here at Pitt who help lead our programs, and so often the initiatives of the office are due to their ideas or come from their interests or previous work. The students that are connected with our office really care about the community and about helping our greater society as public servants, so it’s really refreshing to help their many ideas come to life.”
Though students often associate PittServes with student volunteerism and direct service, their initiatives go well beyond that.
“Our mission centers on guiding students to be fully engaged in their communities,” said Justin, “and that can be through direct service, but it can also be through philanthropy, advocacy, awareness, democratic engagement, and other areas of public service. We help to guide students and provide opportunities for students to learn in all of these areas and more.” Civic Action Week is a perfect representation of this mission—and PittServes is central to the planning. This year, they’re facilitating a volunteer experience with the City of Pittsburgh’s annual Garbage Olympics to lead teams across Oakland and clean our community. Additionally, the Volunteer Fair, National Voter Registration Day, and the Alternative Service Break Launch are all Civic Action Week programs led by PittServes. Justin’s favorite? The Volunteer Fair.
“Getting feedback from our community partners and hearing about how inspiring and impressive our students are and how they can’t wait to get students involved in their organizational efforts brings me great pride and joy,” said Justin.
PittServes is made possible by its dedicated network of partners, students, staff, and volunteers. For those looking to get involved with PittServes—at any level—reach out!
“If you’re a community or institutional partner looking to connect, I’m your guy,” said Justin. “Most great things start with a connection and a conversation and my door is open. If you’re a student, I always recommend a few things. First, to stop by and see us in person. We’re in 130 William Pitt Union and we’d love to talk to you more about what we do and how we can support you in this work. We can then connect you with our student peer leaders, including our Pitt Impact Ambassadors, who can talk to you about your interests, abilities, and ideas and help you find opportunities that work specifically for you.”
Service is for everyone, and there’s no better way to get to know your community than to give back to it!