UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Hailing from Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, Bunton-Waller Fellow Zairi Mercader has fulfilled her high school aspirations — becoming a Penn State student and president of the Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA). What’s next? “Anything I can think of,” she said.
Mercader, a fourth-year student majoring in Spanish and marketing with a minor in information systems management, is following her passion for building community through her extracurricular involvements at Penn State. In addition to being president of the PRSA, she also is and vice president of university relations for Penn State Latino Caucus.
Central to these involvements is Mercader’s love for her country, spreading her culture and making sure everyone around her is happy.
“We Puerto Ricans are very proud and very loud,” Mercader said. “I’ve always shared my culture with others, and Penn State has allowed me so many opportunities to do that.”
Mercader explained that in her Penn State application essay, she wrote about wanting to become president of PRSA. Now, she proudly holds the position and aims to continue the organization’s legacy of providing a sense of community for Puerto Rican students.
“Since my first year at Penn State, I’ve been involved with PRSA. I don’t think I would have found my home at Penn State without it,” Mercader said. “Being at a PWI [predominately white institution], PRSA let me see people like me and be around my own community. I’m far away from home on the mainland, so that was important to me.”