In 1919, Kathryne Pierce earned her degree from Mercer Law School. She was the first woman to enroll and the first woman to graduate. Now, for the 2024-2025 academic year, 49% of Mercer Law students are women.
Mercer Law alumna Shay Peterson, ’14, probably experienced some of the same hardships and joys as Pierce when she enrolled in The Citadel in 1998, just three years after that institution began enrolling women in their undergraduate programs.
For more than 150 years, The Citadel was an all-male institution and didn’t enroll women until 1995. The first woman graduated from the South Carolina Corps of Cadets in 1999, paving the way for other women to have the same experience. In 2002, 20 women earned their Citadel diplomas. Among those 20 women were seven Black women, including Shay Peterson. Graduating 32 years after the first Black man graduated from The Citadel in 1970, these women were among the first to break the school’s race and gender barriers.
The significance of these women’s accomplishments is not lost on Peterson. Today, there are nearly 100 women, about 13%, in the Corps of Cadets, and about 10% of all cadets are Black.
Peterson said that being part of this elite group was a challenge but a great experience overall.
“I was able to excel and did very well. The primary reason I chose The Citadel was because I wanted to attend a school with Navy ROTC and join the Navy after college. After my knob year (first year of school), I wasn’t sure the military would be a good fit, especially if it was anything like The Citadel (in terms of its animosity toward women),” she said. “By my junior year, I realized The Citadel environment was unique to that particular setting and wasn’t necessarily a reflection of the military. At that point I was taking Air Force ROTC. Ultimately the Air Force seemed like a better fit. I was also awarded an Air Force scholarship.”
Peterson, a Chicago native, graduated from The Citadel with a bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in international politics and military affairs. She began working with the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence officer. She served four years in the Air Force in locations around the world and five years in the Illinois Air National Guard. She earned her Master of Business Administration in management and marketing at the University of Illinois Chicago before moving to Warner Robins and earning her Mercer Law degree in 2014.
“I’ve always been interested in real estate and property law, so after completing my military service, I was able to pursue this interest and decided to attend law school,” she said. “I chose Mercer Law because it’s a well-respected institution with a great reputation and boasts some of the finest alumni in the state of Georgia. Its proximity to where my husband, Mike, was stationed at Robins Air Force Base was an added bonus.”
As a Mercer Law student, Peterson appeared on the Dean’s List and was a top four finalist in the Lawson Competition for first-year students. She was a member of the Tax Law Society, Association of Women Law Students and Black Law Students Association.
“What I enjoyed most about Mercer Law was the camaraderie of the students. Everyone was willing to help everyone else and were genuinely good people,” she said.
Peterson also worked in the law school’s career services office as a student. After graduation, she served the law school as assistant director of admissions and enrollment management.
“Shay was simply amazing, and we were fortunate to have her as a member of the admissions team,” said Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Marilyn E. Sutton, CLAS, ’83, LAW ’92. “Shay engaged with prospective and current students, established relationships with pre-law advisors, collaborated with stakeholders both within and outside the law school, and was responsible for providing statistical analysis regarding our marketing initiatives. She was instrumental in ensuring that we met our enrollment management goals.”
Peterson is a licensed attorney in Georgia and Illinois, specializing in Georgia real estate and Illinois workers’ compensation. She currently serves the U.S. Department of Education as senior advisor to the chief of staff for federal student aid, in which she provides advice and counsel to the chief of staff and manages various special projects.
“I was not surprised that Shay was so capable after graduating from Mercer Law, The Citadel for undergrad, and serving in the Air Force,” Sutton said. “Her enthusiasm, dedication, time management skills and humor were superb. She’s also a genuinely kind person who seeks to encourage and support everyone around her. We’ve stayed in touch, and I truly appreciate all she accomplished while on the admissions and financial aid team — and all she will continue to achieve.”
Peterson said, “Mercer Law is a top-notch institution with highly engaged students, staff, professors and alumni who have a sincere interest in maintaining the excellence of the institution and encouraging each member of the Mercer Law family to reach their potential. I believe it’s especially important for alumni to remain involved with the Mercer Law community to demonstrate to future generations what is possible through perseverance and hard work.”
