Raines Receives NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

INDIANPOLIS, Ind. – Mercer University football alumnus Jack Raines was awarded a 2020-21 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, announced Wednesday.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship is a highly selective award bestowed on only 42 student-athletes (21 male and 21 female) from each sports season (fall, winter, spring) across all three NCAA Divisions. Awardees include student-athletes who have excelled academically and athletically and have demonstrated superior service and leadership.

Raines is currently working for UPS in Atlanta in a corporate finance role and is looking to move into the investment side of finance as his career progresses. After graduating from Mercer, he was accepted into Columbia University's MBA program, which he plans to begin in 2022.

"I'm ecstatic about winning this scholarship," said Raines. "Attending graduate school at an institution like Columbia has always been a dream of mine, and the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship goes a long way in making that happen. This was a competitive award, and I'm honored that the voting committee deemed me a worthy recipient. I'm thankful for my professors and coaches at Mercer for helping prepare me on my journey, as they played an integral part in helping me reach this point."

"An exceptional scholar and gifted athlete, Jack possesses the finest qualities that we expect of our student-athletes," said Dr. Jeffrey Hugdahl, professor of chemistry and faculty athletics representative at Mercer. "It has been my pleasure to work with him, and I hope his experiences at Mercer University and beyond inspire others to seek the same level of success in everything they do."

Throughout his career, Raines was active in the Mercer community and beyond. He volunteered with the MS Society of Georgia, Rebuilding Macon, the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and Traffick Jam in Macon. He also traveled to Zaruma, Ecuador, with the Mercer On Mission program, serving as a translator for Mercer engineering students and working with the city council of Zaruma to create an economic redevelopment plan. Additionally, Raines, who served as president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, annually raised money for the fraternity's Nick Whitlock Foundation.

A first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2019, Raines was a three-time Academic All-SoCon performer and four-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll selection, earning the Commissioner's Medal all four years for posting a GPA of 3.8 or higher, including a 4.0 GPA in three of four years. He finished his undergraduate career with a 3.99 grade-point average, completing the University Honors Program curriculum and graduating summa cum laude, and turned in a 3.75 GPA in 12 hours as a non-degree seeking student in his final semester. Raines was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and a Mercer Presidential Scholar, a status he maintained throughout his college career.

A double-major in finance and Spanish at Mercer, Raines is a member of Columbia Business School's first deferred enrollment class, which will allow him to enter the workforce for two to four years before enrolling to complete his MBA. Raines was recently hired by UPS to serve as a domestic finance specialist at the company's global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, worth $10,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school based on an evaluation of their academics, athletics and community service.

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Raines Receives NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Players Mentioned

Jack Raines

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