Gabriella Medina likes to hang out in one of the smallest conference rooms on campus. 

The small conference room in the Nils K. Nelson building has seating capacity for just four students. It may be the smallest student common area on the Hammond campus. 

“My favorite spot to chill on campus is the Nils building, ” said Medina, a sophomore nursing major. “I like to study in room 203, the Nancy E. Goodnight Group Study Room, to get all of my assignments done for the day.

“I like to go into this room because it is very quiet and allows me to focus on my studies,” she said. 

She picked the spot after exploring different spaces on campus.

“Gyte has no feasible study rooms to my liking like Nils, and the Student Union Library Building, has too many students that are too loud,” she said. 

In Nils, Medina likes to use the connectable televisions by linking them to her iPad to study on the whiteboard. This allows Medina to practice like she is in lecture studying for the upcoming exam.

But Medina admits that she does more than study in her favorite chill spot. 

“Once I get the majority of my assignments done, I take a break, a 30-minute break and eat my lunch while watching YouTube until my next class starts,” she said.

Since Nils houses biology, nursing, chemistry classes, and labs, there is a lot of competition for study spaces. 

“I try to grab my study room right when I get to campus and leave my things in there to come back once my class is over,” said Medina. “Since all of my core running classes are primarily in this building I tend to stay here. 

“I like the atmosphere in Nils,” she said. “It allows me to remain on top of things without the distractions of other students.”