Conor Pewalski: From Yale to Full-Time Husband—Why Did Michelle Wu’s Husband Leave His Career Behind?
We always hear about women giving up their careers to stay home and care for their families. We rarely see men do it, but when we do, it’s always heart-warming. At least, that’s what it was like when Conor Pewarski put his career aside to support his wife and care for his children.
Interested to know the man’s story? You came to the right place!
Conor Pewarski’s Early Life
Despite being the husband of Boston’s Mayor, Michelle Wu, you’d be surprised how little information there is about Conor Pewarski on the internet. Don’t worry, though. I didn’t come empty-handed.
Born in 1985 in Massachusetts, Pewarski is 39 years old as of writing this post. Growing up in a house that valued familial relationships, he developed a strong sense of community at a young age.
After graduating high school, Pewarski attended Yale, majoring in economics and film studies. Sure, it’s one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, but that’s not the only reason it was a perfect fit for Pewarski.
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If you know anything about Yale, you know it instills community-centered values in its students, something that Pewarski knows a thing or two about. So, his college years have done nothing but strengthen the core values he learned from his family.
Conor Pewarski’s Wife
Most people know Michelle Wu as Boston’s mayor, but she had a celebrated career before acquiring mayoralty.
City Council
In 2014, Harvard-graduate Wu became the first Asian American woman to serve as a member of the Boston City Council, not knowing that she would head the council two years later.
As a member/the head of the council, Wu has always fought for the good of the people, and you can see that in her accomplishments over the past decade.
She authored a paid parental leave ordinance, called for the city to adopt Community Choice Aggregation, regulated short-term rentals of housing units, and more.
Mayoralty
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I can dedicate an entire post to Wu’s accomplishments as Boston’s mayor, but I’ll make it short by saying she was as tenacious as she was in City Council.
She called the federal government to create a Green New Deal, set the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, supported minority-owned businesses, and the list goes on.
Sure, she faced a few hiccups during her term, but who didn’t? She’s even planning on running for a second term.
Conor Pewarski’s Love Life
Pewarski’s love life is like one of those feel-good movies that leave with hope that true love exists. How so? Well, he met his wife during a Harvard-Yale gaming party that she hosted.
A mutual friend introduced them, and realizing that they shared the same strong sense of community, they quickly took a liking to each other and started dating.
Relationship Challenges
Despite having the cutest origin story I’ve ever seen, Pewarski and Wu’s relationship faced some rough challenges.
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Not too long into her relationship, Wu’s parents got divorced. Her father was working overseas, and her mother became inactive. So, the future mayor decided to travel halfway across the country to support her mother and two sisters.
Pewarski had to make a choice here: Stay where he is and pursue his dream to be a Hollywood producer or help his partner with her family issues. Easiest decision he’d ever made.
Pewarski put his career aside to go support Wu. You can probably tell his family was confused and disapproving, but he didn’t care.
Getting Married
They say challenges can either strengthen or weaken a couple, and Pewarski’s and Wu’s relationship only grew stronger after the previous incident.
Image source: Instagram
It wasn’t long before they got married in 2012 and welcomed two beautiful children, Blaise and Cass. Wu is currently pregnant with a third child and will welcome them next year. From that day on, Pewarski’s family became his number one priority.
What did he do to show it?
Conor Pewarski’s Career
After giving up on his Hollywood career, Pewarski decided to switch to banking. A reasonable decision, given that he’s an economics major.
According to his LinkedIn account, he worked as a banker at Wells Fargo (2010-2013) and East Boston Savings Bank (2013-2021).
He didn’t stay in that industry forever, though. Why? Because his wife was making history.
Connor Pewarski Supporting His Wife
You can probably tell that the mayoralty isn’t all fun and games. Wu was quite busy with office problems. Pewarski had to make another choice here: Keep working and disrupt the stability of his home or put his career aside to focus on his family.
You know where I’m going with this.
He chose to quit his job and care for his wife and children to ensure that his family remained strong and connected. I know what you’re thinking: “How far will this man go for his family?”
Image source: Google
Don’t worry. Pewarski isn’t planning on giving up his career forever. He just prioritizes the work his wife is doing at the moment and believes that his current job should be to help her be as successful as possible.
Wrapping Up
I think if the green flag could be a person, it’d probably be Conor Pewarski. No matter what plans he had for his career, those came in second after his family’s well-being.
The best part? He made all these sacrifices with unrelenting conviction. If that’s not loyalty, I don’t know what is.
Featured image source: Google
