Saying good-bye to your friends and community that one has known for the past three years can be one of the hardest, yet exciting experiences of one’s life. Nick Marinello, who has been the hall director at Helman Hall for three years, has decided that it is time for him to spread his wings and move on to another chapter in his life. “Moving on is sort of like graduating college all over again,” Marinello said. “It is very exciting to have all these new possibilities to choose from.” Although hehasn’t fully decided upon any plans for his future yet, he is seriously thinking about moving to Chicago because his sister lives there.

  
Marinello is from St. Clair Shores, which is in Metro Detroit, and he graduated from Central Michigan University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science in international relations. After graduation, he immediately accepted a job offer from Manchester College to be a hall director. However, he wasn’t directly placed at Helman Hall. He had a choice among Helman, Oakwood and Schwalm Halls. “Helman was my first choice but Schwalm was my second,” he said. “It would have been interesting to have been the hall director at Schwalm. I would have liked the challenge and to have tried to get the Schwalm community involved.”

  
The past three years have been a blessing and fulfilling experience for Marinello. “I immediately clicked with the Helman community members,” he said. “I’m so lucky to have had a great staff and to have been surrounded by such a great student development. Everything and everyone associated with Helman has been just like a family to me. They are mature and fun people who are quiet but also passionate about their goals and beliefs. I also have really enjoyed Hall council and starting and carrying out traditions with the Helman community.”

Three years have created a lot of positive and fulfilling experiences at MC for Marinello. His job as hall director has helped him to get to know others on a daily basis, especially since he lives and works in the same environment as his co-workers and peers. “My favorite single memory as hall director would be from my first year at MC,” he said. “My staff completely filled my office with about 200 balloons for my birthday. It was such a wonderful surprise, except for the fact that I had an important meeting in about ten minutes, so I was furiously trying to pop balloons so that I had enough space in my office for the meeting.”

  
Marinello is content but also nostalgic about leaving MC and Helman Hall. “I’m really happy to have been the hall director of Helman for the past three years,” he said. Marinello is currently conducting interviews to help choose a new hall director for Helman. “I just want to leave Helman and MC in the best condition possible,” he said. “I hope that the next hall director at Helman is able to create their own positive path for Helman and its community.”

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