Dedication to public service and exemplary performance as a scholar have been hallmarks for Marley Belanger, BA ’22, MA ’23. Raised in Dedham, MA, Marley majored in Government as an undergraduate and earned her graduate degree in Global Public Policy.

Marley’s devotion to serving the public began in high school, and thrived while at Suffolk. She first volunteered as Vice Chair of the Commission and Dean of Government for the American Legion Auxiliary Massachusetts Girls State. Over a period of seven years, she planned an annual week-long civic engagement and education program that bolstered the leadership skills of hundreds of high school students across the state.

Currently, Marley serves as a management and program analyst for the US Department of Commerce’s Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) R & D Metrology Program. This job is under the rubric of CHIPS for America, an initiative to spur American-based production of the semiconductors that are key to our economic and national security. Marley’s team focuses on manufacturers’ ability to accurately measure, monitor, and ensure product quality.

Marley secured her federal job via her selection as a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF)—a program that, before its termination, served as a leadership incubator and professional development program for the federal government. Marley was likely the first and only Suffolk graduate to qualify for the PMF distinction. These fellowships were highly coveted and extremely competitive: for Marley’s year, approximately 7,000 advanced degree holders across the nation took the competency exam, 1,200 passed, 800 were selected for her PMF cohort, and 200 were ultimately placed in a federal agency.

Prior to her current role, Marley was a fundraising and communications associate for MASSCreative, a nonprofit that promotes a more equitable arts, cultural, and creative sector for residents of the state. She helped to advocate for increased state funds for arts/cultural programs while interacting with elected officials to advance policy initiatives.

Marley’s academic experiences at Suffolk were robust and diverse. The Honors Program motivated her to take on a senior capstone project and symposium presentation focused on the US/China trade conflict—an area of expertise that catalyzed Marley’s career path. She took advantage of Suffolk’s off-campus study opportunities, including a language exchange program in France, study at the Washington Center (a career development organization), and an internship at a DC-based international nongovernment organization, Generations for Peace.

As an undergraduate research assistant, Marley collaborated with Professor Barbara Abrams on translating, cataloging, and analyzing original historical documents from 18th-century France. Through an honors course with Professor Christina Kulich (Political Science & Legal Studies), Marley published blogposts and conducted research with the Democratic Erosion Consortium. In her graduate program, Marley worked with Professor Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, contributing to her research on human rights and transitional justice, with a focus on international norms against genocide and torture. Yet another graduate school experience entailed working for the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority as a community liaison for their Bus Network Redesign initiative.

Marley recalls how the CAS Honors Program was crucial to her development, offering small classes that she could tailor to her interests and facilitating meaningful, one-on-one interactions with faculty. The program also enabled Marley to quickly build a professional cohort. She lived in a dorm among other honors students, which led to enduring friendships. "If not for the Honors Program, I could not have possibly accomplished as much as I did. What I learned and experienced through the program,” Marley adds, “definitely helped me down the road to land my current job. Just as important, the Honors Program allowed me to benefit from everything that Suffolk has to offer."