Description: Dr. Mercado’s research focuses on food and housing insecurity among community college students, and the impact of basic needs insecurity on students’ academic progress. These findings have implications for educational efforts aimed at promoting college students’ basic needs security.
My work in the fields of Education and Public Health is centered on educational support services and mentorship of first-generation, low-income, and historically marginalized students as well as the linkages between health and education as it pertains to health equity and academic achievement.
I have a focused interest in addressing basic needs insecurity among community college students. My most recent efforts aim to promote equity and enhance student success by supporting institutional change that reconceptualizes student services in a manner that ensures students’ basic needs are being met.
Read more about my journey and how my work in this area of research began: