Our latest Campus Cutie is a Pittsburgh native whose passion for sports is as great as his passion for Mason! Meet Dom Merlino, a Club Baseball Player, member of the Knights of Columbus, a Resident Advisor, AND a Mason Ambassador. Did I mention he’s feeling 22? For Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates that is! Â Dom might be a grand slam in his extracurricular activities, but he’s also brilliant. Â As a Mechanical Engineering major, he hopes to break into the development of sports equipment, and we have a feeling he’ll knock it out of the park. Â
Year: JuniorÂ
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaÂ
Relationship Status: Single Â
What Made you choose GMU? I really wanted to go to a school out of state where I didn’t have any friends and could have some new experiences.  I also wanted to go further south where it would be warmer…but apparently I was wrong about that!Â
What’s your favorite memory you’ve made at Mason so far? Definitely the Club Baseball Team’s trip to Florida for Spring Break this year.  We got to play games against Xavier, Carnegie Mellon, and Michigan Tech which was really cool.  We also went to Spring Training for the Pirates and while there and got to go to the beach every day, it was a ton of fun.Â
What’s your favorite place to eat on campus? Chick-fil-A
Dom hiking at Great Falls with a friendÂ
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? I’d really like to see Italy.  That’s where my family is from, and I think it’d be amazing to see The Vatican city and all of the tourist spots.  I’d also like to go to Switzerland someday. I met one of my best friends while he was a foreign exchange student in high school, and he lives there now, so it’d be pretty cool to meet up with him.Â
What’s your favorite movie? Remember The Titans for sure!Â
What would be your ideal date? If I’m at Mason I’d love to take someone into DC to see the monuments, go out to eat, and walk around the city.  In Pittsburgh I would definitely take a girl on the incline and to a Pirates game!Â
Dom with Pittsburgh Pirate, Starling Marte (who’s a left fielder like Dom!)
Do you have any strange talents? I can wiggle my ears.
What are your hobbies? I love playing sports, so I play on intramural teams and play pickup basketball with my friends a lot. I’m also really into my shoes…I have a lot of Nikes and Jordans.  Usually my biggest decision of the day is what shoes I’m going to wear!Â
Any turnoffs in a girl? Not that I can think of….usually I just get a vibe and think okay…this isn’t happening. Â
Dom with friends at the Homecoming Tailgate earlier this semester
Either/Or Game
Summer or Winter?Â
Summer!
City or country?
Country
Waffles or Pancakes?
Chocolate chip pancakesÂ
Republican or Democrat?
Moderately RepublicanÂ
MLB or NFL?
MLB
Dom and the Mason Club Baseball Team
Any advice to freshmen? Really test the waters when you get here and see what clubs you want to join.  The people you meet freshman year are probably going to be the people you’re going to hang out with for the rest of your four years. Definitely break your comfort zone and join organizations you wouldn’t normally join, you might meet your best friends.
Be sure to support Dom and the rest of the Club Baseball Team by coming to games this season!Â