February 11, 2013
New York City has nearly 8.3 million residents, but it’s only
got one mayor. That’s where the Community
Affairs Unit – and proud St. John’s University alumnus Samuel
Pierre ’07CPS – steps in.
“We
are the eyes and ears of the Mayor,” said Pierre, who currently
works as the North Brooklyn Borough Director. “Our job is to
basically be him in the community, to serve as liaisons, attend
board meetings and know exactly what’s going on. If an incident
occurs in downtown Brooklyn, it’s our responsibility to make sure
the Mayor knows the ‘who, what, where, why and how’ before his
press conference. That way he’ll know all the names and pertinent
information.”
The job is a dream come true for Pierre, who discovered his passion
for government and politics as a student at St. John’s, primarily
thanks to his experience in Student
Government, Inc. (SGI). An incredibly active student, Pierre
served as SGI’s Chair of Research and Development and found the
opportunity life-changing.
“The funny thing is,” Pierre joked, “I didn’t know a thing about
research or development! But I had become friends with
Fabrice Armand ’04CPS, ’07G, the outgoing President, and he
sort of took me under his wing. Before I knew it, I was involved in
the By-Law Committee, I joined
Haraya – St. John’s Pan-African Students’ Coalition – and I
founded the Communications Club. I was pretty involved.”
The experience convinced Pierre that a career in real-world
government would be best, and he landed a job with U.S. Congressman
Ed Towns only a week after graduation. He later worked as Deputy
Director for New York Assemblyman Alan Maisel and eventually found
himself where he is today in the Mayor’s Community Affairs
Unit.
“I always tell people: SGI and real government are the exact same
thing,” he explained. “If you turn on CNN or C-SPAN, you’re
basically watching an amplified Student Government meeting, which
is why I always say that SGI was such an eye-opening activity. It
teaches you how to interact with others, how to lobby for what you
need and how to endure those Budget Committee meetings that take
hours and hours and hours.”
Additionally, Pierre currently serves as the Community Affairs
Unit’s Director of African American and Caribbean Affairs Citywide.
To this end, he is responsible for covering and briefing the Mayor
on major issues that happen in predominantly African American and
Caribbean neighborhoods throughout all five boroughs.
“Whether it’s the neighborhoods of Harlem, Jamaica, Brownsville –
I’m the one who handles certain unique situations that may arise
there,” he explained. “All in all, the unique thing about my two
roles is that you never know what’s going to happen at any given
moment, so there is no such thing as a ‘typical day.’ One minute, I
might find out that I need to attend an unexpected board meeting or
even a funeral. Every day is different and challenging in its own
way.”
Fortunately, Pierre is prepared for anything thanks to his time at
St. John’s, and he loves to talk about his student days. He remains
great friends with many of his fellow alumni, frequently attends
Men’s Basketball games and, whenever he speaks with St. John’s
students, he encourages them to join SGI.
“St. John’s gave me an incredible opportunity, one that I couldn’t
have gotten anywhere else,” he said. “We were 19 or 20 years old
and managing an SGI budget of $1.8 million – that’s impressive to
employers and speaks volumes about what you can do in the real
world. So my advice is always this: get involved and stay involved.
That’s the trick.”