The end of the semester is upon us all, and this time of year always comes with a feeling of mixed emotions and lots of chaos.
It’s also a good time to reflect on the successes and failures that the previous semester has brought in order to better prepare ourselves for what’s next.
My fall 2024 semester was definitely an interesting one for sure. This was my first semester at the University of Rhode Island as a third-year student. I transferred from Community College of Rhode Island and it has been pretty difficult adjusting to not only my new environment, but my new majors.
At CCRI, I was a general business major and I was primarily looking to come to URI to finish that and switch it to marketing, since that’s what my special interest was then. I hit a roadblock in the summer and I didn’t make the grade point average requirement to directly transfer into the URI College of Business. After a few weeks of scrambling, I decided to change my major to communications to get myself into URI.
I built my schedule in early July with the help of Angela Quagliaroli and I’m forever grateful for how willing she was to help me with navigating e-campus and selecting the right classes. She also pointed me in the right direction and told me who to talk to for any lingering problems I might’ve had.
Before I knew it, September was here and it was time for my first day at URI. I had no idea what to expect or how I would survive and fit in. Pretty much everyone around my age already seemed to have a select group of friends and I didn’t have any direction at all. I struggled with my social life on campus, and I still kind of do but now it’s much better. Everything would change for the better once I joined the Good Five Cent Cigar.
I had always loved writing and I even reported for my high school’s newspaper. Since I hadn’t done anything journalism-related for nearly three years, I realized I missed it. But I was so nervous to go to a meeting since I didn’t know anyone in it. Then came Aidan Cahill, the photo editor.
He got me involved and made it seem less scary to join and really eased a lot of my nerves. I’m very grateful for his help and how he led me into the Cigar office. Now I had something to do and found people that shared similar interests. I then decided to declare a double major in communications and journalism at the end of October and I have no regrets.
As the semester went on I had the most academic success I had seen in a while. My grades are good, a huge step up from how my tenure started. Through the semester, I realized how much I love reporting and writing articles and being active within the fields that I chose. I’ve been pretty ambitious all semester when it comes to writing for the Cigar.
I feel Lauren Drapeau and Nathan Robillard need to be mentioned at least once here. I’m sad to see them go but I have to thank them for being such great mentors and bosses and making me feel super welcomed. Those two along with Ellie Sennhenn and Maia Hembruff. From the moment I walked in they were super friendly and willing to help. The same can be said for Ryan Pelillo. I can’t help but be grateful for all of you. Thank you for always being willing to help me out and also giving me the sense of comradery I was looking for and afraid I wouldn’t attain this semester.
I’ve learned so much about myself and URI all throughout the semester and I don’t regret a second of choosing to come here. I feel I’ve made the right choice. I’m finally chasing after two degrees that I care about and want to advance in. I don’t know what the future holds for me in these next three semesters I have here, but I’m excited to see where the road leads.
The fall 2024 semester is truly one for the books and I will probably be talking about this semester in particular for years to come amongst my friends and family.