Marine Corps captain begins new journey in foreign service
According to Maggie Mello ’10, who has experienced several career changes, life has a funny way of working out for the best.
After graduating with honors from UC Davis, Mello spent a decade serving her country as a logistics officer and eventually became a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. Now, she is preparing for a promising future in international development with USAID through the prestigious Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship.
Carving her path
After earning a history degree from UC Davis in 2010, Mello, like many graduates, was uncertain about her future and explored a wide range of career paths. She interned at a PR firm, spent a year with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in St. Francis, South Dakota, and returned to San Luis Obispo to work as an aisle manager at Tennis Warehouse and coach cross country. Ultimately, an inspiring trip to Washington, D.C., with a friend led her to become an officer in the Marine Corps, following the service of her father and grandfather.
As a logistics officer, Mello served the Marine Corps for ten years. Her position allowed her to work on a wide range of projects, from managing large groups of Marines overseas to developing a COVID-19 response plan for a rural base in Southern California.
“I would joke that my job was like being a combat soccer mom—making sure everyone had what they needed to complete the mission, from food and water to medical supplies,“ she explained. “The job was a mile wide and an inch deep; there were a lot of different jobs that I could do in the military.“
Her leadership role in the Marines took her overseas to Australia, where she managed a company of 125 people as part of her duties. Returning to the United States, she reflected on the importance of open dialogue and understanding international affairs from a global perspective.
Without a space for open and uninhibited dialogue, we would be doing ourselves a disservice by not interacting with people from vastly different backgrounds,” she said. “Free speech opens us up to different worldviews and can create a space for new ideas to form and converge.”
Gaining new perspectives
After ten years of service with the Marines, Mello decided to return to academia to pursue a graduate degree in international relations after being accepted to the Donald M. Payne Fellowship program for USAID. The Payne Fellowship, which provides up to $104,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships, and professional development activities, is a unique pathway to a career in the USAID Foreign Service.
Named in honor of New Jersey's first African American congressman, the fellowship encourages diverse voices to promote international development, democracy, and human rights. By supporting individuals like Mello who are interested in careers in global development, the Payne Fellowship prepares them to become Foreign Service Officers with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) upon completing the program.
With the Payne fellowship, Mello is now applying to international relations programs with the support of her husband and two children. She is excited about gaining new skills and experiences during her fellowship.
“My ten years in the Marine Corps provided me with incredible experiences and allowed me to serve my country proudly,” Mello stated. “Now comes a different type of service as Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellow.”
An Aggie's advice
Mello began her first year at UC Davis as a Regents Scholar and was part of the Integrated Studies Program. She explored a wide variety of interesting topics and took advantage of the university's creative course options, enrolling in a few unconventional ones.
“My husband recently looked at my transcripts and was laughing at me," she said. "I just followed my interests and took courses all over the place. I took six PE classes, the maximum allowed, and even a meat-cutting class at one point.”
An avid enjoyer of history, she credits her success to her genuine interest in learning about the subject matter. She fondly recalls writing papers at the last minute during caffeine-fueled all-nighters and collaborating with classmates in lectures.
“History just felt like stories to me, and I love that. I loved all the stories of different countries and ways of governance and leadership; it was so fascinating to me,” said Mello. “There were these amazing history professors in the department, and the ideas they would bring up were just awesome.”
Outside of academics, Mello was a dedicated student-athlete. She served as president of the nationally ranked Women's Rugby Club Team and chair of the UC Davis Sports Club Council.
“I made so many great memories playing for the women's rugby team,” said Mello. “Being on the team was awesome, and joining some sort of group on campus gave me a great, tight-knit community to be a part of. I had so much fun, probably more than I should.”
To current undergraduate Aggies and newly graduated alumni, Mello offers words of encouragement.
“At the end of the day, you're going to be okay,” she said. “I had some rough patches, really hard times between graduation and where I am now, and I have survived all of them. Just keep moving forward, life has a funny way of working itself out.”