Doorperson of the month: Nicholas Watts, Marina City

Nicholas Watts is a firm believer in human decency. He displays it everyday at Marina City, and that’s one of the reasons he’s the New Eastside Doorperson of the Month.

Despite being new to Marina City, he’s been in the security industry for nearly 25 years and in the residential sector for 15.

“When I found out residential security was a thing, I knew I really enjoy being around people,” he said. “So I’ve been doing it for the last 15 years or so.”

Members of the community have made a strong impact on Watts during the year he has spent working at the towers. Among them is a woman named Barb who helped make the transition into the new role easier for him.

“I’m a firm believer that human decency still exists,” he said. “We walk around, and everyone is attached to their devices, and there’s an overall lack of common courtesy, a lack of human decency.

“So to meet someone that would rather have a human interaction, you don’t get that too often anymore. She was always very friendly, she made the adjustment very easy.”

Watts tries to spread the same kindness that Barb showed him into the building everyday. When Barb’s cat died, he helped make arrangements to give her one less thing to worry about, which may seem like a small task, but for Nick, it was easy to do.

“More people should do things like that,” he said. “If you’re able to get someone else through their day, you don’t know what they’re going through. It could mean nothing to you, but mean the world to someone else.

“It doesn’t cost anything to just be a decent person.”

Watts lives with his wife and two daughters, Kendall and Kylie, who are 17 and 11 years old. He commutes from Dunning each day, and loves the historic community he’s able to serve.

“As a Chicagoan, it’s a part of Chicago, who wouldn’t want to work here,” he said. “This is who I am and this is what I do. I believe in human decency and I believe more people should.”