From football fields to nuclear fusion: UNM Lobo wraps first season as an engineering graduate student
December 9, 2025
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.
“Football is very mentally demanding, and it’s helped me learn to process things quickly. It’s similar to engineering because you have certain plays and have to apply rules to them,” he said. “It’s almost a training for engineering in a way.”
The UNM linebacker graduated with bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Math from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. Once interested in pursuing a career in the medical field, his undergraduate Calculus 2 course reminded him how much he enjoyed math. The course helped steer him toward engineering. When it came time to look at graduate schools, The University of New Mexico was a natural fit for its highly ranked nuclear engineering program and opportunity to compete in D1 athletics.
“This is one of the few schools at this high of a level that offers nuclear engineering and allows you to be a student athlete,” he said.
It’s certainly been an exciting year to join the Lobos. Jason Eck, in his inaugural year as head coach, was named Mountain West Coach of the Year and the team has boasted a record-breaking season, earning bowl eligibility for the first time since 2016.
“Seeing the momentum we’ve built this season has been exciting,” he said. “Representing the state this season has been fun and I’ve loved being part of something the community can rally around.”
While pursuing both D1 athletics and a graduate degree in STEM may sound like a challenge, 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.”
Since diving into nuclear engineering courses, Swaim has become interested in the potential of fusion energy. Though fusion reactions, which power the sun and other stars, have not yet been replicated on Earth, they would offer an unlimited renewable energy source. His courses have fostered an interest in a nuclear energy career.
If ever he doesn’t earn the grade he hoped for, he returns to the game film — or in this case, his study process.
Balancing the mental demand of the sport he’s played since childhood and his master’s studies isn’t easy, and he doesn’t often get free time to relax, but Swaim credits his work ethic to his parents. He learned his love of football from his dad, the football coach at his small-town Pennsylvania high school.
As he begins his first Albuquerque winter, Swaim is enjoying the sunshine and warmer days than he had back east. He’s sure to get an even better taste of the southwest’s version of the season when the Lobos compete against Minnesota in Phoenix on Dec. 26.
