Nicolas De Mello ’23: Appreciating CMC

As captain of the Claremont Club Soccer team, Nicolas De Mello ’23 found a way to further his engagement with the sport through his Appel Fellowship writing project. De Mello explored the rise of racism, nationalism, and politics in soccer.

“It was an opportunity to combine global issues with one of my passions, soccer,” he said.

The fellowship also meant working with CMC Prof. Kevin Moffett on a topic that De Mello cares about deeply. “It enhanced my CMC experience,” he said, “and has helped develop my writing, which I used to see as a weakness of mine.”

Drawn to CMC, at least in part, because of the small class sizes, De Mello has still found the faculty’s willingness to engage with students surprising. In his experience, this is especially true of one of his favorite professors, Peter McAniff, whose Accounting for Decision Making class he took in spring 2021.

“He emphasizes the real-world applications of learning and constantly gives contemporary examples of the in-class material,” De Mello said. “He is very approachable and shows that he is committed to helping his students both academically and professionally.”

De Mello sees a willingness to be supportive as a key characteristic of the CMC culture and similarly appreciates the “good balance between academic challenges, a pre-professional focus, and a wide range of extracurricular activities.”

He has made good use of the offerings. Drawing on his personal background—he is from Geneva, Switzerland, and spent 12 years in Singapore—he is co-president of international student affinity group, I-Connect. He also serves as an economic journalist at the Lowe Institute of Political Economy.

As the Spring 2022 semester begins, De Mello seeks an internship focused on Economics in either the U.S. or London. As for his long-term prospects, De Mello is considering the pursuit of a PhD in Economics.