Alumni Spotlight | Angela Mercurio

Angela Mercurio | Alumni Spotlight
Kitchener, Ontario
Nebraska Women's Track and Field

What does it mean to be a letterwinner at Nebraska?
Being a letterwinner at Nebraska is a great experience because from your first day as a student-athlete on campus, you realize how important traditions are. Becoming a letterwinner, and receiving your jacket immediately instills a feeling of pride and sense of belonging among the great Nebraska student-athletes of the past and future. You feel like part of a larger community and it is great motivation to keep pushing forward and achieve great things as a student, athlete, and member of the community.
 
There is no place like Nebraska rings true for many student-athletes and letterwinners. What does this saying mean to you?
I do not think there is a school that supports their student-athletes better than Nebraska (but I may be biased!). There is no place like Nebraska means that you will receive opportunities well beyond your sport. They will support you academically and in life in general, and make your college athletic experience much easier with all the added benefits such as access to quality food and recovery, amazing facilities, sports psychologists, diversity and inclusion initiatives, a laptop, and so much more. Not to mention, the entire Nebraska community will support and cheer for you and you will find people all across the world who will give you a friendly Go Big Red!
 
What is your fondest memory as a UNL student-athlete?
My fondest memory was winning Big Ten Championships in 2019. I had come close in the past, and had come in ranked first before, only to finish 2^nd and 5^th. It was truly a moment of relief to stand atop the podium at my final conference meet and repay Nebraska, my coach, and my team for all they had given me over the years.
 
What is one thing you would like to share with other letterwinner alumni?
I’m so honored to be a Nebraska letterwinner alumni and join the wonderful community of excellence that so many of you started and continue every day. I am grateful for all of the examples that were set before me by great student-athletes and people in general, and I hope to be a face of inspiration for the younger athletes coming in. To me, being an alumni means that the road does not stop here, I hope to give back to Nebraska and the student-athletes coming up in the same way they gave to me.
 
What is the story that got you to Nebraska?
Nebraska was originally not on my radar at all! I was very late in the recruiting process when I realized that the school I was planning to go to was not going to work out. I sent an email to almost every head coach in the country with my stats, and Coach Pepin at Nebraska called me within 10 minutes! He invited me on a visit and I was sold almost immediately with how impressive of a program and athletic department. I knew it was a place where I could succeed athletically and academically, and I am eternally grateful that I made the decision to be a Husker.