Senior Success: Architect Nikole Marin Celebrates Earning a Dual Degree and a Job at DMR Architects
It all started in sixth grade. Nikole Marin ’23 needed to select what she wanted to study for a class and because she didn’t want to go through the long list of choices, she selected among the first ones in the “A” section. Ultimately, that quick selection has led her to achieving two degrees from NJIT – Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Science in Architecture.
“I love working with building blocks, I love to draw, I love to design and create spaces ever since I was a little girl,” said Marin. “So I decided that I wanted to pursue that from the sixth grade.”
Although she didn’t fully understand what architecture was at the time, her dad, who works in construction, was a great source of inspiration. She learned most of the ropes of the field, thanks to his experiences.
Her journey took her to High Tech High School in Hudson County and Bergen County Community College before landing in NJIT.
“Five years flew by, and during my junior year I was ready to take on a little bit more of a challenge,” Marin shared when she started to think about the possibility of earning a M.S. Arch. at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design. “I researched a little bit into the dual degree and I was like, I could start taking classes now. I was really excited about it because I got to work with a lot of great teachers.”
Darius Sollohub, interim director for New Jersey’s School of Architecture and professor, was one of Marin’s biggest mentors during her time at NJIT.
Halfway into her first year, Marin remembers how Sollohub’s teachings helped her reshape one of her projects. He was surprised how quickly Marin was able to redo her project after taking into account his observations. “It ended up being one of my best projects as a first-year,” she said.
“He said it was a great development, he doesn't know how I just flipped a switch and changed it so fast, and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that I could work so fast and develop a new style, a new design so quick.”
Sollohub highlighted what she offered in the New Jersey Transit Penn Station studio. “Nikole’s engagement with New Jersey Transit and other professionals in the Penn Station studio showed a remarkable sense of bearing. I am confident that she and others in that studio will go on to do great things in their careers.”
Marin, a North Bergen, New Jersey native, interned with DMR Architects for two years and recently accepted a position as a designer with them.
“I grew so much,” she said. “After these past two years, I've been able to put my own designs into the firm, and they've actually really valued them and used them within projects. I think that's a very full circle moment being able to design for the real world right after college.”
She will miss all the time she spent with her friends and the support circle they created. “I would say most of my best moments come with my friends. I think that a really important quality of the architecture program is that you develop this sense of friendship.
“You work so hard together, you stay up so late together, and by the end of the day, you get to celebrate together.”
Marin is proud of her Ecuadorian and Colombian roots as her mother is from Ecuador and her father is from Colombia. “I think my parents, and my family are my number one supporters without a doubt. My mom is a teacher, and my dad works in construction in New York. They have dedicated their entire life to me pushing forward and persevering.”
“Like a lot of Hispanic families, they immigrated here, and they worked really hard for their kids to have a better life. And that was the exact situation with my parents.”
She likes to observe architectural styles from both Colombia and Ecuador. There are different scenarios she has been able to pick out from both countries, like how Ecuador works around natural disasters and Colombia’s different transportation systems.
“There have been a lot of natural disasters in Ecuador, I always look into how they design around it, they have beautiful landscapes there,” she noted. “In Colombia, they have innovative ways of how people transport around their systems, their buildings. It's been a really big inspiration towards my designing.”
Architecture has been part of her life ever since that sixth grade class. “I've been doing it my entire life.
“I haven't looked back, and I really enjoy it.”
