Alumni Spotlight: Macey Mayes '18
Meet Macey Mayes '18
A native of Central City, Kentucky, Macey Mayes is a global affairs professional with a passion for sustainable development and cross-cultural understanding. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with minors in humanities and women & gender studies from the University of Louisville in 2018, graduating summa cum laude. As a McConnell Scholar, she took full advantage of global learning opportunities, studying abroad in China, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. After completing her degree, she earned a David L. Boren Scholarship for intensive Bahasa Indonesia language study through the U.S. Department of Defense. After spending a year in Indonesia through Boren, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship through the U.S. Department of State, serving as an English Teaching Assistant in Malaysia.
Since graduation, Macey has built a career in international trade and diplomacy. Currently, she serves as an International Program Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), where she designs and implement initiatives supporting regulatory reform in developing and post-conflict countries. Her prior roles include enforcing U.S. trade laws as an International Trade Compliance Analyst and conducting global trade audits for Sazerac, Inc.
In addition to her professional achievements, Macey served as a Boren Alumni Ambassador, mentoring students interested in international education and language immersion. She credits the McConnell Scholars Program for shaping her intellectual curiosity, opening doors to a career that blends policy, global engagement, and public service.
Will you describe your experience abroad/what challenges did you face during this experience?
My experience living in Indonesia as a Boren Scholar and in Malaysia as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant remains the most challenging and rewarding time of my life. Through Boren, I spent the 2018–2019 academic year immersed in an intensive Bahasa Indonesia language program on the island of Java. For the first semester, I lived with a host family in Malang, deepening my cultural and linguistic understanding, before moving to Yogyakarta for the second semester to continue my studies. After finishing my program in Indonesia, I moved to Malaysia and taught English to secondary students in Kedah before evacuation in the wake of COVID-19.
Living abroad pushed me beyond my comfort zone and into a world of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I trained in Indonesian martial arts, hiked active volcanoes across Java, rock-climbed in rural Laos, coached a boys’ soccer team in Malaysia, and got engaged (to a fellow McConnell Scholar!) in Bali.
In many ways, I owe it all to the one second of bravery it took to hit “submit” on an online application. Growing up in rural Kentucky, it was hard to imagine a life so different than the ones around me. But with the guidance and patience of so many exceptional mentors and friends, I was able to live out this wildest dream.
How did this experience impact you and your career?
Through the Boren and Fulbright programs, I gained a non-competitive eligibility (NCE) hiring authority, which provided a strong launching point for my career in the federal government. The Boren Scholarship requires recipients to complete a year of federal service, making it an excellent “foot in the door” for those, like me, who want to pursue a career in public service. I fulfilled this requirement with the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce before transitioning to my current role at the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP).
As an International Program Specialist with CLDP, I manage international technical assistance programs for the Energy and Minerals team, focusing primarily on the Asia-Pacific region while also supporting projects in Eastern Europe and South America. This dynamic role has taken me across the world, including back to Indonesia and Malaysia, where I’ve been able to apply my deep knowledge of local politics, language, and culture—expertise I first developed as a Boren Scholar and Fulbright Scholar.
What else can you share about the important work you did abroad?
While living in Indonesia, I had the opportunity to participate in an international development internship during my second semester through my Boren-funded program. I was fortunate to apply my language skills while working with Yayasan SATUNAMA Yogyakarta, a democracy-building nonprofit focused on community engagement, governance training, and political awareness. In recent years, the organization has played a vital role in promoting free and fair elections in Indonesia.
Beyond my internship, I fully immersed myself in Indonesian language and culture. I took cooking classes, learned traditional martial arts and dance, and traveled across four of Indonesia’s islands, deepening my understanding of the country’s diverse communities.
In Malaysia, I taught English to secondary students in rural Kedah—a state bordering Thailand—through the Fulbright Program. While I co-taught several classes alongside my Malaysian counterparts, I also developed and led my own curriculum on women's empowerment and American politics and culture. Additionally, I coached the boys’ soccer team, organized after-school art classes, and served as the English debate coordinator for regional competitions.
Now, in my current role, I travel abroad to manage diplomatic and educational programs worldwide. My experiences in Indonesia and Malaysia have been invaluable—not only in shaping my expertise in Asia-Pacific politics and culture, but also in teaching me resilience and the importance of maintaining a sense of humor when things don’t go as planned. With CLDP, I’ve traveled back to Indonesia and Malaysia many times, but have also managed programming in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Suriname, and Ukraine.