Mercy Anawe honored with 2025 AWIS Spark Award

12-08-2025

Purdue University biological sciences graduate student Mercy Anawe has been selected as a 2025 Spark Award recipient by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS), a national organization dedicated to advancing women in STEM. The Spark Award recognizes early-career scientists who are driving meaningful change in their fields and within their communities through advocacy, mentorship and outreach.

Anawe is one of five emerging leaders honored this year. According to AWIS, Spark Award recipients exemplify the organization’s values by uplifting others, contributing to a more inclusive scientific workforce, and demonstrating exceptional initiative early in their careers.

Building supportive communities for student parents

A key factor in Anawe’s recognition is her leadership in creating the Shining Mums network at Purdue, a community for student mothers navigating the academic demands of graduate school. Launched in response to gaps she noticed while adjusting to life as both a new mother and a new doctoral student, the group provides practical support, resource sharing and a sense of connection for mothers — particularly international students who may lack family nearby.

Anawe has spoken openly about the challenges she faced after welcoming her first child during her first year of graduate school. Recovery from a C-section, coursework and research responsibilities all collided at once. “It was a lot to balance, especially being far from home,” she shared during a recent conversation about her journey. Support from her husband, friends, and her principal investigator, Richard Kuhn, helped her stay grounded as she adapted to her new roles. She also benefited from campus and community resources, including the “Host a Boiler” program, which pairs students with local families. For Anawe and her husband, that connection grew into a long-term friendship and an important source of encouragement.

The Shining Mums network aims to ensure that other student parents do not have to navigate these challenges alone. Members share information about community resources such as the Indiana Diaper Bank, help one another find baby items and childcare information, and offer advice based on lived experience. The group currently communicates through an app, and Anawe is working toward creating a website to improve accessibility and outreach.

Extending impact beyond Purdue

Anawe’s commitment to supporting women and girls extends far beyond campus. Through the Mercy Anawe Foundation, she contributes to efforts to address period poverty in Nigeria. The foundation distributes menstrual products, provides health education, and collaborates with local partners to improve access for young women in underserved communities. Anawe remains involved in planning and coordination while completing her graduate studies in the United States and continues to share the foundation’s mission with campus partners and community members.

Anawe describes the work as deeply personal — shaped by her own experiences and those of women in her family. The foundation’s programs address both immediate needs and longer-term barriers, offering resources that help girls stay in school and navigate adolescence with dignity.

A record of service and leadership

While Anawe’s primary focus is on Shining Mums and her foundation, she has also contributed to the campus community through involvement in the Women in Science Program (WISP) and AWIS. She first learned about WISP during her orientation in 2021 and later served as the graduate representative for Biological Sciences, supporting peer mentoring and community-building efforts.

Nationally, Anawe is a member of AWIS and serves on its program committee, helping identify topics and speakers that benefit a wide range of participants — from graduate students to industry professionals and academic researchers.

What this recognition means

For Anawe, the Spark Award is validation of something she has practiced since arriving at Purdue: building structures of support wherever she sees a need. Her work reflects a belief that academic success is strengthened when students — especially those balancing parenthood or adapting to a new country — have access to community, encouragement and clear pathways to resources.

As she continues her doctoral studies under the mentorship of Richard Kuhn, Anawe plans to expand both the Shining Mums network and her foundation’s outreach efforts abroad.

“I would like to thank my PI, Dr. Richard Kuhn, Dr. Connie Kaspar, Associate Director of Science Diversity and Basil Obodo, PhD Candidate Biological Science Department for nominating me for this award, I am truly honored by their support and confidence in me.”

Her selection for the 2025 AWIS Spark Award highlights not only her promise as a scientist, but also her impact as an advocate, organizer and community builder — someone committed to ensuring that others can thrive alongside her. Her AWIS recognition adds to a growing list of honors for her leadership, including a campus student-leadership award, a community “woman of promise” honor, and a scholarship from Women & Hi Tech.

About the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University

The Department of Biological Sciences is the largest life sciences department at Purdue University. As part of Purdue One Health, we are dedicated to pioneering scientific discoveries and transformative education at the cutting edge of innovation. From molecules to cells, from tissues to organisms, from populations to ecosystems — we bring together multiple perspectives, integrating across biological scales to advance our understanding of life and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. Learn more at bio.purdue.edu.

 

Written by: Alisha Willett, Communications Specialist, amwillet@purdue.edu

Contributors: Mercy Anawe, morukpem@purdue.edu