Deanne Machado ‘05 received the 40 under 40 award from the Sacramento Business Journal for her outstanding work as the deputy of police services for the City of Davis police department. Through her position, she is able to help her surrounding community and build relationships with people.

Deanne is a Stockton native, and would drive by University of the Pacific with her family as a child. She admired the beauty of the campus and its proximity to home. Pacific was the only university Machado applied to; she had no desire of going anywhere else. Fortunately, she was accepted and was part of the Community Involvement Program (CIP). She acknowledges the program for helping her with academic planning, tutoring, and community service. 

Machado’s time at Pacific was filled with memorable experiences. Her love for the university is undeniable, as it was the foundation that shaped her future endeavors. Machado started out as a political science major, with plans to continue at McGeorge School of Law’s accelerated program. However, it all changed spring semester of freshman year when she discovered the School of International Studies (SIS). She went out with her friend from SIS, and realized that it was there - where she belonged. Machado said, “I felt that it was my place.” Not long after, she switched her major to International Relations (IR), which she describes as very multidisciplinary. 

During her undergraduate years, Machado enjoyed the small class sizes at Pacific, and the ability to connect with professors; she said, “They care about you.” Professors care enough to push you to pursue more in order to fully experience your major and all it has to offer. Machado mentioned that she did not want to study abroad, which was a requirement to graduate from SIS (and remains). She attempted to get out of it and stated, “I tried talking my professor out of studying abroad, but she told me, ‘you are going’.” 

With no way out, Machado went to Barcelona, Spain for a semester, which she described as “life changing.” She met tons of great people, some of whom she is still connected with to this day.  
Building strong, life lasting connections is one of Pacific’s many perks. Machado’s story was evidence of such relationships students get to develop with professors and peers. After graduating from Pacific, Deanne went on to graduate school at UC Davis. She emphasizes how Pacific’s education made her competitive at top PhD programs. She had planned to get her doctorate degree with hopes to teach one day. 

This is where her Pacific connections came in to play a vital role in helping her find her purpose. She was contacted by her political science professor, Brian Klunk, who gave her an opportunity to teach at a summer school session at Pacific, while still at Davis’s graduate program. Machado explains, “by giving me that experience and taking a chance on me, it made me realize that I don’t want to teach.” Therefore, she ended up only completing her masters.

For Machado, it was important to have an open mind and not limit herself, which was exactly what she did. She happened to see a job application for a crime analyst position at the City of Davis and applied. It was all by accident, nothing she had planned for. She simply went for it and luckily things worked out to her advantage. “Know that as long as you have basic course sets, you are capable of doing so many things.” Even though her background was focused on political science and not crime, Machado knew that she had the analytical skills for the position. She stressed the importance that if one immerses themself, they can learn. And over the years, she has worked her way up to her current position as deputy of police services. When asked about the 40 under 40 award she received, Machado said, “It felt very good to be recognized for my contribution to my field and to the city. I have been so supported by my city leadership, which has impacted me very positively. It’s one thing to feel it, but another to get the reassurance that you are on the right path and are recognized.”
 
Machado is fulfilling her purpose of helping and supporting the people of her community. She continues to do so through her work which she loves, and says “it’s something different everyday”. She gets to do so many different things, including connecting with people and building relationships. It’s important to love what you do, and Machado advises students, “Don’t ever do anything just for the money. It’s very tempting to seek out the lucrative jobs. It’s just not a proposition around money, you really have to feel connected to your work, you have to love it.”
 
Finally, when asked if there is anything about Pacific she hopes never changes, Machado said, “Its charm of being small and intimate. That is the thing that is so wonderful about Pacific. It engages a different part of your learning capacity, and gives you the small community feel, with a top notch Ivy League status education.”