University News

Student Awarded Scholarship to Cambridge

Creighton University Arts and Sciences senior Danae Mercer of Omaha has received the opportunity of a lifetime — and she plans to make the most of it. She is the recipient of the Davies-Jackson Scholarship for postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, in the fall of this year, the only student in the United States to receive the award.

Mercer is quick to credit Creighton for helping her achieve the honor, but her mentors are just as quick to acknowledge her own grit and determination in overcoming tremendous odds.

“I’m so grateful to my mentors at Creighton,” Mercer said. “I have developed such strong bonds with faculty and staff here. They have become my family and will be part of me for the rest of my life.”

Each year, the Davies-Jackson Scholarship is awarded to one student who is a first-generation college graduate; it is valued at $50,000. After two years of study in sociology, psychology and political science at Cambridge’s St. John’s College, Mercer will be awarded the Cantab degree, which is viewed as the equivalent of a master’s degree in the U.S.

The hardships Mercer has faced in her life — and her response — were likely part of the reason she was awarded the exclusive scholarship.

Mercer’s undergraduate credentials are impressive: With a double major in political science and journalism and a minor in French, she writes for the student newspaper, The Creightonian; is a leader with the International Relations Club and the Model United Nations team; and is accomplished in math and statistics with published research. Mercer has held multiple part-time jobs throughout her college years, including a current internship with US STRATCOM as a policy designer and researcher. For the past two years, Mercer has received Creighton’s Presidential Mentoring Scholarship, which supports students who are planning to apply to prestigious national and international colleges or universities for graduate study.

But what sets Mercer apart from many top achievers is that she has achieved her collegiate goals — and then some — without family support. She was raised by her mother, who had been ill for several years before passing away after Danae’s freshman year in college.

Mercer said her family had “… bounced around the country, moving from state to state, and I hardly stayed in any one spot — let alone any one school — for more than three years.” She said her mother had not completed high school.

“School was a place where I belonged, where I found room to stretch my mind in new and exciting ways, where answers weren’t easy but always worth pursuing. Although I sacrificed much for academics, there had always been balance in my life.”

Yet, after her mother’s death, she found this balance changed as she became not only completely responsible for herself, but the primary caretaker for her younger sister.

“I discovered I was too academic-focused. Several faculty members stepped in and counseled me to take a break,” she said.

“Danae is an amazing young woman and a great example to all students who may have faced challenges over the years,” said Lisa Brockhoff, associate director of career development in Creighton’s John P. Fahey Career Center. “She has definitely endured more hardships than anyone her age should have to experience, but she keeps a positive attitude, stays focused and continues to work hard.”