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Alumni Spotlight: Dave Lakly @ Georgia State University

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Dave Lakly’s job is something that you probably would not expect for someone who graduated with degrees in Telecommunications and Film Studies. Dave is currently an Enterprise Risk Management Analyst at Georgia State University, and has recently served as Deputy Director at the Senate Budget and Evaluation Office of Georgia and as the Director of the Education Development Division at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. Dave originally got involved in the New Media Institute (then named the Dowden Center for New Media Studies) in his last semester at UGA in the fall of 1999. He took the class as an elective, but found a love for, and later a job in, web development.

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After graduation, he worked in web development for eight years working at various places like Atomic Fusion, EDS, and Emory University. After this work in web development, Dave decided to make a career change and pursued a Master’s degree in Public Administration at Georgia State University. After completing his Master’s, Dave began work at the Capitol.

While Dave does not work with new media directly in his job, he continues to apply the lessons that he learned from Dr. Shamp. He has two mantras that he lives by at work: content is king, and make it work- then make it work better. While working at the Capitol, Dave was tasked with making sure legislators were constantly getting the right information, and that he was communicating that information in the most effective way possible.

While it may seem like technology does not impact Dave’s job, it is quite the contrary. The Senate Budget Office uses a .NET/SQL Server application (used to write the legal bill that becomes the state budget), and his knowledge of coding helped him better communicate with developers when problems arose. While Dave doesn’t know .NET, having coding knowledge helps, and Dave believes that this knowledge can apply to any place that a person works. Dave has applied similar lessons at Georgia State, as his job has him using several different systems, from PeopleSoft to BANNER.

To get the most out of a UGA education, Dave advocates for (in his own words) being a pest. By going to office hours, asking questions, and asking for extra projects, students have the ability to stand out at a large school like UGA. Dave learned other lessons from his education while at UGA from his capstone project. (It was called G-map and would provide walking directions between any two points at UGA). From this capstone project, Dave says that he learned how to divide work, and how to ensure that the person who is doing the work is the best person for the job.

Dave has also worked as a hiring manager, and says that he cautious about potential employees who go too far out of their way to promote themselves. Dave thinks that it is best for applicants to be reachable both in person and online. As a part of researching candidates, Dave does look for them on Facebook and Twitter, and said that “I don’t expect people not to have an online life, but these days it is pretty easy to filter out who can see what, and if someone isn’t paying attention to that, it often says all I need to know.”  Finally, Dave admits that his last piece of advice might be a little dated, but well-done cover letters get his attention.  Cover letters should demonstrate a strong attention to detail.  “It’s never good when some misspells my name in his or her cover letter, something that happens with surprising frequency,” he confesses.

While Dave’s job is not conventionally new media related, the lessons that he has learned through web development and the New Media Institute have transferred over to a job in public service and policy.

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn.

Interview conducted by Sarah Beck.

 

 


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