A member of the Cigar since 2017, Kayla Michaud is saying goodbye after revolutionizing the paper’s entertainment section. Photo by Matt Leake.
Picture this: A freshman walks into a college newspaper office with no journalism experience, no close friends and no understanding of how this decision will heavily influence her college career.
This quickly turns into many trips to Applebee’s with the staff, scream-singing lyrics to “The Middle” on the weekends, endless hours in the office piecing the newspaper together and four semesters of being an entertainment editor. There is a lot more to it, but this goes to show how quickly I found my place at the Good Five Cent Cigar.
Walking into the office for the first time, I had no idea what to expect. Four years later, I’m walking out of the office with countless memories, lots of editorial experience and over two years worth of Wednesday nights spent putting together a newspaper.
The Cigar office was the first place I felt at home at the University of Rhode Island. It’s the place where I fell in love with journalism for a while, met my first role models at URI and grew closer with the people I’m still friends with today.
The fall of my sophomore year was my first semester as entertainment editor. My first ever meeting as an editor not a single person took a story from me. It was a lot of me writing the majority of the stories to fill two pages and no one ever wanting to cover the music convocation.
With lots of hard work and dedication this turned into filling four pages of just entertainment stories from many reporters multiple times AND having more luck with covering the music convocation!
To say my reporters made me proud is an understatement. One of my favorite parts about being an editor was working with reporters on their skills and seeing them improve week after week. Especially when I see a lot of the freshmen from my sophomore year now running the paper, it makes me extra proud.
Eventually there comes a time to reflect on the influence you’ve had on the Cigar and how the Cigar has influenced you as a journalist and an individual. I simply could not have done this without the support and teachings of my first editors as freshmen. To the seniors and juniors my freshman year, thank you for welcoming me, pushing me to chase stories and grow as a young student journalist. Thank you for becoming friends with us freshmen and staying our friends today. Your support has not stopped since you all graduated and I strive to be like that for the current Cigar staff once I officially graduate.
As sad as it is to admit, after my fourth semester as entertainment editor, I was ready to step down. I felt like I brought the section as far as I was meant to bring it. The best thing about the Cigar is that it keeps getting handed down to the next generation to continue to keep it alive. I was ready to step down because someone else was more than ready to step up. To the “other Kayla,” the current entertainment editor, thank you for keeping the section alive. This section has seen nothing but growth, especially over the past three years. You’ve worked hard for this, and, without a doubt, continuously make the section, the paper and myself incredibly proud.
To the original freshman newspaper takeover, thank you for being some of my first close friends my freshman year. Thank you for inspiring me to work harder on stories and keep print journalism alive. To Ian, Theresa and Andy, I simply could not imagine my time at the Cigar without any of you. Here’s to you all being three of my closest friends at URI. To Susan, thank you for being my school mom and for always supporting us as young individuals.
I honestly hate saying goodbye. Simply because it makes me sad. However, this isn’t officially goodbye. No matter where I am, I’m excited to see the Cigar and its staff continue to grow and thrive as an organization.
My time as entertainment editor cannot be matched, and I cannot thank everyone enough who has supported me and the growth of this section along the way.