WRITING & IDEAS
Selected Posts from LinkedIn
A curated selection of posts on leadership, identity, transition, and the parallel build. The ones worth reading twice.
WRITTEN BY
Nicholas “Rhino” Rinell
Master Sergeant, USMC · Adjunct Faculty, AMU · RBLP-T
Posts
SERVICE – AUGUST 2026
The Vacancy I Almost Didn’t Notice
Showing up monthly to help with the SDMAC Breakfast Speaker Series led to an open seat on the SDMAC Foundation board. An application, a board vote, and a legal review later: voted in as Secretary at the first meeting.
FAMILY – AUGUST 2026
Your Support System Determines How Far You Go
A long day in uniform, a quiet text home, and a daughter who had dinner, a heating pad, and a pillow waiting. None of it was asked for. All of it mattered.
COMMUNITY – AUGUST 2026
Another SVA Social, Another Room Full of Connections
The AMU and APU Student Veterans of America chapter changed the format again: Hiring Our Heroes, IVMF resources, a LinkedIn class, and a talk on overcoming adversity. The point was people in a room together.
LEADERSHIP – JULY 2026
My Boss Spent Years Planning Our Squadron’s Events. His Answer Stuck With Me.
Beach Bashes, Christmas parties, and Mess Nights, all planned quietly on his own time. When asked why, the answer was simple: he loves our Marines. The best leaders set up the room so everyone else can enjoy it.
EDUCATION – JULY 2026
You Do Not Have to Stop Your Life for Two Years to Level Up. You Can Stack.
Why stacking certificates and credentials, each useful the day you earn it, fits service members, working parents, and second-career builders better than the stop-everything model.
COMMUNITY – JULY 2026
The SVA Social: Taking Connection Off the Screen
A Southern California social for an online university chapter, sponsored by Working Capital Marketplace. Resources, a LinkedIn class, and a talk on creating connections, all in service of getting people face to face.
PLATFORM – JUNE 2026
The Vibe with Kelly Cardenas and Spotlight on the Community
A guest seat on The Vibe and four episodes co-hosting Spotlight on the Community in the same month. Telling your own story and drawing out someone else’s are different muscles. Both matter.
LEADERSHIP – JUNE 2026
Okinawa and the Joint Leadership Panels: Shared Misery as the Mechanism
Three Okinawa tours and a seat on the Joint Leadership Panels at Kadena. What I would give the Air Force: shared misery. Nothing builds a cohesive team faster than shared adversity.
CREDENTIALS – JUNE 2026
The RBLP-T Certification: The Process Mattered More
Earning the Resilience Building Leadership Professional Trainer certification meant applying the framework, not memorizing it. Twenty-two years of memories became source material.
SERVICE – MAY 2026
Memorial Day: We Have the Watch
Representing American Military University at the Veterans Association of North County Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony. To the fallen, we have the watch.
RECOGNITION – MAY 2026
The Alumni Service Award: What It Actually Is
The award requires evidence of regular and sustained service, a pattern rather than a moment. AMU made education accessible to someone like me. Not easy, but accessible.
RECOGNITION – MAY 2026
The Dr. Wallace E. Boston Leadership Award: The Name Matters
Active-duty Marine, adjunct faculty member, chapter president, and someone who almost did not graduate high school. This award is proof that the work is visible, and that it matters.
COMMUNITY – APRIL 2026
SDMAC, San Diego FC, and the People Who Move Things Forward
San Diego FC CEO Tom Penn at the SDMAC breakfast, the Foundation’s real introductions between transitioning service members and employers, and SB 1407 on military retirement pay.
TEACHING – APRIL 2026
The Week 1 Students and the Week 6 Students
One cohort finishing Week 6 while two others start Week 1. Same course, same material, completely different places in the journey.
LEGACY – APRIL 2026
A Marine Built This
A plaque at a San Diego Zoo aviary, funded by the estate of a Master Gunnery Sergeant. Legacy that does not announce itself, making someone’s day better long after the builder is gone.
RECOGNITION – MARCH 2026
Two Awards. Still Processing.
On being selected to receive the Dr. Wallace E. Boston Leadership Award and the Alumni Service Award from American Public University System at BeGreat2026 in Washington, D.C. Some things take time to sit with.
LEADERSHIP – MARCH 2026
Today I Turn 41.
On turning 41 the same day one of my Marines turned 20. Two men, twenty-one years apart, measuring their lives against different yardsticks. What that moment revealed about experience, perspective, and what we pass on.
RECOGNITION – MARCH 2026
Named a Finalist for the Alumni Service Award.
On being named a finalist for the American Military University Alumni Service Award, and on the teammates, mentors, and fellow Marines whose work made the nomination possible.
The Rally Point
The monthly newsletter of the AMU/APU chapter of Student Veterans of America, co-written with Vice President Tommy Hendler. Chapter news, member recognition, and a message from the President each month.
ISSUE 9 – JULY 2026
The Oceanside Independence Day Parade and the Southern California Networking Social
ISSUE 8 – JUNE 2026
National Awards, SVA Headquarters, and 73 New Members at Grad Fest
DECEMBER 2025
Chapter Year in Review
Tommy Hendler selected for the SVA Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., the chapter’s work with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, the San Antonio Ruck Challenge for Stop Soldier Suicide, and a new member resource spotlight.
“Hold the Standard”
THE KEEP – NICHOLAS RINELL
