Merrill Hall, the oldest building on campus, is known as a girl dorm but for this summer, Merrill is a boy dorm for the first time, and has 38 boys (including me). We all know those boys for their victories on Field Day and dodge ball. “They’re just a very strong group of guys, both physically and mentally which makes them undefeatable,” said Can Yağan, from Main Street.
It really makes everyone wonder; “How do they manage to do it?” Boys at Merrill Hall are very good friends. Everyone knows each other, and they refer to one another as a brother. Kai Goerg said: “We’re not just a dorm, we are a family. Our friendships and strengths came together and formed an amazing team.” Boys at Merrill, believe in and trust their friends, which is the most important thing that a team should have. When you lose, instead of arguing, your teammates should support you, which is exactly why Merrill is such a great dorm. They motivate eachother and they strive for greatness!
Merrill Hall has many strengths, but do they have any weaknesses? Josh Jun said: “Our strengths are teamwork and the way we motivate eachother. Weaknesses? We have no weaknesses.” What makes a team average is their trust. An average team has no trust. A team that’s good, focuses on how to motivate friends when needed. “We have a good group of guys and we just came together well and managed to overcome the obstacles that we were facing,” said Walter Hubsch.
As Dylan Hernandez put it: “We never use the word ‘friend’ at Merrill because we don’t have friends. We have family and I believe that’s what makes us a unique dorm. The moment Field Day started, we heard Merrill Hall roaring, and we saw them motivating each other. There were times when Merrill Hall was about to lose but instead of giving up, they tried even harder.” Faisal Aljaber said: “All we wanted was to win the first competition of Summer School. We wanted to show the other dorms how strong we were, and what we were capable of.” Merrill Hall did have strong opponents; however, they still managed to win. As Remy Naud said, “We don’t see other dorms as opponents because they can’t compete with us.”
Not only were the students of Merrill Hall strong, but their dorm heads as well. The dorm heads and the kids won this competition together. Before the game started, the dorm heads talked to the kids and told them how to compete with other dorms but before tactics, they talked about fair play. Both dorm heads are very proud of them. John Corrigan said:“I’ve been doing this for a long time. This is a group that has bonded quicker and better than any other group that I’ve worked with. I am very proud of the kids. A small dorm never beats big dorms and I think that is because they are closer.”
Students at Merrill Hall are more than pleased to have Corrigan and Matt Denunzio as their dorm heads. “It’s always good to know that you have adults counting on you,” said Josh Jun. “For us, as a team, we were very pleased to see our dorm heads supporting and motivating us non-stop. We knew that even if we lost, our dorm heads would be proud of us. Knowing this, motivated us to go beyond expectations. We are very thankful to the best dorm heads John and Matt. If it weren’t for them, we won’t make it.”
Merrill Hall, also known as the undefeated dorm, is proud of its victories and will never be forgotten for its accomplishments. “Our team work is the essence which lights our everlasting fire,” said Kai Goerg.