I’ll start from the very beginning. I finished my first semester at the University of Rhode Island with a 0.440 GPA as an undecided health sciences student, and I had previously half-joked that I expected to get a 0.800 (as you can see, it was much worse!).
I moved back home and spent the next year retaking the classes that I had failed, spending little-to-no time exploring my actual interests as I was consistently stuck in a perpetual cycle of survival. I ended up taking a gap-semester to spend time with myself once I had re-established good academic standing.
Late in the spring, I had a Zoom meeting with John Pantalone, and the only question I cared about was “Can I travel in journalism if I were to pursue a degree in this?” to which he responded “yes.”
I have not traveled in journalism, nor do I necessarily plan to. In fact, I have rooted myself so deeply in my love for Rhode Island and The Good Five Cent Cigar that I am dreading graduation. How many college students have you met that want to continue suffering from the stress of semesterly responsibilities? If you hadn’t met one before, now you have.
Hello, I am Lauren, and if I could continue running this silly student newspaper, I absolutely would.
I reflect back on my time in college with such a high appreciation for everybody who encouraged me to put myself out there, especially the journalism department as it welcomed me with open arms. In my very first semester, I met a handful of people who stuck by my side throughout the entire year. We worked together outside of class, bounced ideas off of each other for our stories and eventually joined the Cigar together. This was the first time since attending URI that I felt a sense of belonging, and boy if I had known it was only the beginning.
If I do the math, just counting pitch meetings and productions, I have spent an estimated total of 300 hours in the Cigar office – about 170 hours of these were while I was in charge. I’ve played countless hours of wall-ball with the stress balls that linger around the office, made valuable memories and formed priceless friendships and learning experiences that I’m sure will last a lifetime. There was an entire group of us at one point spending upwards of 20 hours a week together between classes and the Cigar (Ronan, Juliana, Nate, Zack and Sully). The funny thing about the Cigar was that, while you’d spend eight hours together every Wednesday night putting out a paper, you’d most likely see those same faces in class the next day at 9 a.m.
I tried tirelessly to recruit Sully Cummins for an editor position on the Cigar, he eventually agreed and I cannot thank him enough for that! We would have been so screwed without it. Seriously. Despite being one of my good friends outside of the Cigar office, he’s proved to be such a valuable asset to the team and I’m so thankful that the next e-board will be able to rely on him (for his commitment to putting out a good paper each week and also his comedic relief that makes this job bearable).
Before I knew him personally, I knew Nathan Robillard as “the guy that always looks like he has a place to be.” Sully and I would drive around campus to kill time and procrastinate homework, see Nate, and then question the life decisions that led us to be so directionless . Nate and I laughed about this a couple of times before realizing that we were both dangerously ambitious over-achievers. Luckily for both of us, it was great that we had each others’ backs during our stints of inevitable burnout. While avoiding lawsuits and trying to keep the staff motivated when we lacked the motivation ourselves, Nate was there to balance it out. I could always rely on him when I had crazy ideas I wanted to put into fruition, if I needed help analyzing an ethical issue or simply if I just needed a little push of inspiration to get through the week from somebody who understood what this job does to an individual. While I’ve thanked Nate on LinkedIn more than anybody else, here I am doing it again! He’s going to do such great things and I cannot wait to watch!
And moving forward: to all of the people currently on the e-board, two of which will move up into Nate and I’s positions, you’re going to do fantastic. I’ve watched everybody blossom and grow into such ambitious reporters and editors, and if I’ve done my job even remotely correctly, hopefully I can hand off a product that is in a position to grow and flourish (it’s in your hands!). Make changes, be inspired and know that your work reflects a larger movement of serving our communities and making a difference. I will miss you all and this organization so much, but I hope that at the end of your terms, you’ll be able to walk away with as much as I’ve been able to. I am eternally grateful.