As the Lobo Football team prepares to compete in the Rate Bowl later this month, the team’s first out-of-town bowl game since 2004, one player is wrapping up his first semester as a master’s student in Nuclear Engineering. While Mercury Swaim, No. 16 on the football team, doesn’t see many players pursue engineering degrees, he said the two require similar thinking and discipline. Pursuing both D1 athletics and a graduate degree in STEM may sound like a challenge, but Swaim said the combination is a natural one. The rigorous sport has helped him become disciplined and process-oriented, which has informed his approach to schoolwork. “Sometimes in football you don’t get the results you want, so you have to focus on the process and giving it your all,” he said. “Obviously, everyone wants to get 100% on their exams, but that won’t always be the case, so I try to focus on the learning process and giving each situation my all.” Read more about Mercury Swaim on news.unm.edu.