Some people exaggerate when they say they’ve been doing something their whole life; not Jarah Doose.
“I’ve been in the political realm my whole life,” says Jarah, who graduated from Carlow University in 2019 as a political science major. “When I was little, my mom used to take me to council meetings.”
Jarah would tag along to those meetings with her mother, Tina Doose, who was a council member, as well as the president of council, for the Borough of Braddock for many years. Most kids might not view a council meeting as the most interesting way to spend an evening, but Jarah absorbed a lot.
“My mother raised me in politics,” she said. “She was my number one inspiration. She showed me it was possible to achieve.”
Jarah’s using some of those early lessons, as well as what she learned at Carlow, in her current position as government relations advisor in the Pittsburgh office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, a national law firm providing legal, business, regulatory and government relations advice to regional, national, and international clients.
“In my role, I am a liaison between our clients and government,” she explains. “I work to help them obtain grants or influence legislation at the local, county, and state levels.” She adds that by August 2023, she hopes to be registered to work at the federal level on her clients’ behalf.
Looking back, it may seem a foregone conclusion that Jarah would be a political science major, but she says that wasn’t the case. When she came to Carlow, she considered being a nursing major, and then thought she might want to be a lawyer.
“I took a constitutional law class, and that was the end of wanting to become a lawyer,” she laughs.
Jarah credits her advisor with helping her sort out a solid career path.
“Sandi DiMola was my biggest advocate,” she recalls. “Every time I became nervous about my future, she would help me sort through my concerns and help me paint a solid path forward.”
Dr. DiMola, who is chair of the Department of Analytical, Physical, and Social Sciences at Carlow, noticed that Jarah had some qualities that would help her excel in public service.
“Beyond being a motivated student, Jarah had a ferocious curiosity, which propelled her to challenge herself,” said Dr. DiMola. “Jarah was unafraid to engage in difficult conversations, in the interest of promoting social justice, and to enter into unfamiliar situations that promoted her professional growth.”
During her junior year, Jarah completed an internship in U.S. Representative Michael Doyle’s office, where she learned how to help constituents navigate the federal government. After graduation, she was hired full-time in Rep. Doyle’s office, first as neighborhood and community engagement coordinator and then as district scheduler/community outreach representative. When Rep. Doyle announced that he was retiring from Congress at the end of 2022, Jarah moved on to her current position with Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney.
While working for the congressman, she furthered her education by completing a master’s in public administration with a concentration in public and nonprofit management from the University of Pittsburgh. She says she is focused on the present at the moment and has no plans to run for public office.
“I am embracing where I am right now,” she says. “I’m enjoying working in government relations on behalf of my clients.”
Don’t read that as if she isn’t contemplating her future at all. A woman of deep faith, Jarah is drawn to ministry at her church, and may decide to pursue a larger role in ministry someday.
Whatever her future holds, she is grounded in faith, education, and service. That is something, she is quick to admit, that began at home, but was nurtured at Carlow
“Carlow is an amazing university that has shaped the woman and worker that I am today,” she says. “I cherish my time at Carlow and carry that with me wherever I go.”