KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 11, 2020 \u2013 Nick Marotta ran for Student Senate president to build leadership skills, but he never imagined he\u2019d be president during one of the most unprecedented periods in his generation\u2019s history. But there he is.<\/p>\n
Marotta has found himself as the student voice on 溏心vlog免费B站 leadership panels that have decided the University\u2019s response to the COVID-19 crisis and the postponement of commencement. And he advocated for the change in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s grading policy to help his fellow students, who were feeling the stress of the crisis and the challenges of remote learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my duty in these discussions to best represent the student body\u2019s interests,\u201d says Marotta, of Copiague Harbor, on Long Island, New York<\/strong>. \u201cI strongly supported for 溏心vlog免费B站 to postpone graduation so graduates could have the experience of having their names called as they walk across the commencement stage.\u201d<\/p>\n His unofficial duties, though, may have been more meaningful.<\/p>\n \u201cReading the social media posts of countless students, especially my fellow seniors, spelled out so much sadness and disappointment,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was the hardest part. I stayed active on social media to answer many students\u2019 questions. I hope my fellow seniors know I was advocating for them at every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Marotta graduates May 17 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in landscape architecture and a minor in community planning. While his year as senate president was disrupted by the pandemic, he can point to numerous successes.<\/p>\n A student carpool permit plan freed up dozens of parking spaces, saved students money and reduced 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s carbon emissions, he says. He also helped implement a safety plan at eight local bars where women could discreetly alert staff to potentially dangerous situations. And as the campus emptied because of the crisis, he helped ensure the transition of student leadership happens with ease in the fall and that student organizations are properly recognized and funded.<\/p>\n While much of his final two years have been spent in the Student Senate chambers at the Memorial Union, he\u2019s managed to fit a lot into his time at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n Growing up near the water on Long Island, one of the things that attracted Marotta to 溏心vlog免费B站 was the chance to explore some of Rhode Island\u2019s many beaches. He\u2019s been known to wear his bathing suit to class and has enjoyed living down-the-line in East Matunuck. He\u2019s visited Narragansett, Sand Hill Cove and Scarborough beaches, along with spots in Newport and other areas.<\/p>\n \u201cMy first couple of years at 溏心vlog免费B站 found me really trying to adjust to a totally different environment and experience,\u201d he says. \u201cI was definitely more exploratory in my travels, trying to find every beach I could on weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n His favorite beach is tucked away across the water from the Galilee port.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s half ocean, half bay because it’s right in the inlet,\u201d says Marotta. \u201cIt’s only about an acre and it’s just so interesting because it’s totally sheltered from the wind and the waves. You can see the commercial shipping and fishing industry right across the way. There’s no breeze and it\u2019s easy to launch a paddleboard from there. So, I think that’s actually my favorite spot.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019s also started the group 溏心vlog免费B站 SUP (Stand-Up Paddleboarding) as a way of getting students out on the water, conducting bay cleanups and \u201cthinking of themselves as stewards of the environment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n That idea carries over to his major. As a senior in high school, he wasn\u2019t sure what he wanted to study until his sister introduced him to landscape architecture. \u201cI liked the idea of having the opportunity to design large spaces that can benefit the public and natural environment,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The classes in his major have been fun and inspiring, allowing him to hear from professional architects and engineers during design charrettes and engage with community members at public workshops for different projects. His favorite design studio was held last fall when students proposed designs for a congested commercial stretch of downtown Wakefield.<\/strong> The plan to \u201ccreate a walkable, sustainable, mixed-use New England village\u201d would introduce more green space and improve safety for pedestrians.<\/p>\n In his landscape architecture classes, he\u2019s had the same five professors \u2013 Angelo Simeoni, Will Green, Richard Sheridan, Bill Gordon, and Farhad Atash \u2013 and has become close to them. \u201cThey\u2019ve taught me a great deal about our profession,\u201d he says, \u201cbut more about how to navigate through the world as a grown adult, never holding back on sharing life lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n As he looks to the future, he\u2019d also like to share those life lessons he\u2019s learned. With the current economic crisis, he plans to pursue an MBA in the fall, while also trying to publish a personal-development book \u2013 \u201cBefore I\u2019m Successful\u201d \u2013 that he\u2019s written his last year of college.<\/p>\n The idea for the book came during four-hour, round-trip commutes to a summer job as he talked with friends on the phone about their similar experiences, which left them wanting. Although he jokes he\u2019s not qualified to offer anyone advice, he\u2019d provide some to his friends that he\u2019d learned from others over the years. And it seemed to help them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe book focuses on areas such as influences, finance and maintaining individuality in a world that seeks to strip it from you,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s geared to people my age, but anyone could benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 11, 2020 \u2013 Nick Marotta ran for Student Senate president to build leadership skills, but he never imagined he\u2019d be president during one of the most unprecedented periods in his generation\u2019s history. But there he is. Marotta has found himself as the student voice on 溏心vlog免费B站 leadership panels […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12],"class_list":["post-75494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}