Tina Thornton, HD ’19 and Mercy Scholar Charlai Duckson ’24 Featured on BronxNet Program “Public Health America”

Mercy Scholar Charlai Duckson ’24 and Tina Thornton, HD ’19, senior vice president of content operations at ESPN and a supporter of the Mercy Scholars Program, were interviewed on “Public Health America,” to discuss the importance of education and overcoming obstacles in the pursuit of a college degree.

“Public Health America,” hosted by William Latimer, Ph.D., vice president of Mercy College’s Bronx Campus, is a weekly program on BronxNet that focuses on promoting health and social justice and features experts’ personal stories and paths to success. These segments aim to provide viewers with the inspiration and the methods to realize their dreams.

In the episode that aired on October 26, Duckson discussed the significance of being named a Mercy Scholar, her educational and career plans, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her studies and her advice for other students. The Mercy Scholar’s Program is a program supported by generous donors, like Tina Thornton, that provide deserving students with a full tuition scholarship for all four years at Mercy. To learn more about the program, please click here.

Thornton is a proud contributor to the Mercy Scholars Program, which helps exceptional students like Duckson afford a college education. In addition to discussing her own education and her 28-year career at ESPN in the episode, she explained what drew her to support the Mercy Scholars Program. “To be able to help a student reach their goal and reach their dreams and not have to think about finances along the way was really important to me,” she said. Thornton encouraged students to pursue their dreams, “Don’t think you can’t because you can!”

The episode can be viewed on BronxNet’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/hZxleVa4NDc. New episodes of “Public Health America” air every Tuesday at 7 p.m. with reruns on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.