Why is a young man named Patrick Mayoh from Australia studying for his Masters in Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, MA?
There are many reasons why Patrick has made that journey, including his commitment to his country, an adventurous outlook on life, and an overriding belief that many government programs can often do a better job of delivering essential services to the people who can benefit from them.
Patrick’s career was also helped when he became a Golden Key Joan Nelson Study Abroad Scholar, which provided $5,000 to help pay for his studies at The Kennedy School. We will hear more about that award in a moment. First, let’s learn more about Patrick and how he got where he is today.
About Patrick Mayoh
Originally from Sydney, Patrick attended the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. While earning an undergraduate degree in Asian Studies, he became involved in a cultural exchange program that brought indigenous young leaders from remote areas to Sydney and Canberra for a cultural exchange program. “It opened my eyes to issues of social justice,” Patrick says.
At about that time, Patrick was invited to join Golden Key.

“I was nominated to join because I was in the top ten percent of high-achieving academic students at my university,” Patrick recalls. “I remember wondering how I could afford to pay the $100 membership fee, which was a lot of money for me at the time. But I spoke to the Golden Key Chapter President and joined.”

Patrick began to enjoy benefits from his membership, including a $250 scholarship from Golden Key that supported his participation in the outreach program for indigenous youth.
Patrick finished his undergraduate work, then earned a law degree. Then he entered the professional world and worked for several years in Beijing, Hong Kong and other cities. Yet his desire to serve his country drew him back to Australia, where he joined the Australian Foreign Service. After three years there, he applied for admission to the Kennedy School and was accepted.
He also decided to apply for Golden Key’s Joan Nelson Study Abroad Scholar Award. He won, and received $5,000 to help pay for his studies.

“It is an incredibly generous award and a real game-changer for me,” Patrick says. “It offers me the opportunity to honor Joan Nelson, who was a champion of the Golden Key community for nearly a quarter century. It is very generous support and I am extremely grateful for it. Even though I am now working two jobs to help pay my costs – graduate school is expensive – the Golden Key award frees me to focus more on my studies and I am incredibly grateful for it.”

Patrick is now researching how the Australian Federal Government can support smart city initiatives to enhance the delivery and evaluation of city services. These programs have great potential to remove obstacles to the effectiveness of government programs (reaching the people they were designed to serve) and help ensure taxpayers’ money is well-spent.
 
Despite the pressures of being part of an intensive program of study, Patrick finds time for other pursuits in the Boston area. He is co-captain of the Kennedy School’s soccer team, which he describes as “the greatest leadership challenge I have had yet, given the trials and selection process! Cutting friends is not easy!” Plus, he has recently become engaged to Helen Zhang – a student he met at the Australian National University. “I could not have done any of this without Helen – she continues to inspire and challenge me,” Patrick says.
After completing his Masters next year at The Kennedy School, Patrick would like to re-join the Australian Foreign Service.
 

“It would be great to leverage my Kennedy School experience and participation in the Australian-American Young Leadership Dialogue to support the U.S.-Australian alliance. While planning in the Foreign Service is always a risky Endeavor, a posting to the US would be ideal,” Patrick says.

The Role that Golden Key Has Played in Patrick’s Success
Would Patrick recommend Golden Key to students who might join?

“Absolutely,” he answers. “Membership offers access to a community of very talented, hardworking people who give back. There are also many scholarship opportunities. There is the great diversity of chapters. I would have absolutely no hesitation about encouraging people to join. It gives me great pride to now undertake an exciting study abroad opportunity as a Joan Nelson scholar. A big thank you to Golden Key for making this possible!”

Everyone at Golden Key congratulates Patrick Mayoh on his award and on the ground-breaking research he is conducting at The Kennedy School. We are proud to have supported him and we wish him every continued success.