Sights worth a second look
The Green Terror network runs deep, and that is no exception in the lives of Zach Nibbelink ’14 and Nick Giusti ’08. While they didn’t attend McDaniel at the same time, they first met when Giusti was a member of the Green Terror football team.
“My dad, Gregg Nibbelink, has been the head athletic trainer since 1991. I grew up on the Hill, going to work with him after school,” Nibbelink says. “That’s how I met Nick.”
But neither one probably imagined that more than a decade later they’d both be enlisted in the U.S. Army, stationed together at Fort Hood, Texas, in the same unit flying AH-64 Apache helicopters.
“I developed such a good relationship with Gregg that I would always make time to go see him if I was in the area,” Giusti says. “During one of those trips, he told me that Zach was becoming a warrant officer, so I was able to reach out and offer some advice to him, having been a warrant officer and a pilot for a couple years myself at that point.”
Fast forward seven years, and they ended up in the same unit, bringing their relationship full circle.
“It’s nice to be able to serve with someone who has similar roots and shared experiences.”
— Zach Nibbelink ’14
“Being in the Army, I spend a lot of time away from home and in unfamiliar places,” says Nibbelink. “It’s nice to be able to serve with someone who has similar roots and shared experiences.”
Giusti says that this unique opportunity is not lost on him: “For us to both be Apache pilots is rare enough. On top of that, for us to be together in the same unit is pretty special. Working with a fellow Green Terror has allowed me to think back on my time on the Hill and those relationships I developed during my college years. I don’t think it’ll ever happen again, so I’m making sure to enjoy it while we can.”
Learn more about Zach and Nick’s time on the Hill, their careers, and why they value being Green Terrors for life.