No matter how far I move after graduation, no matter how many people I meet and no matter how many stories I publish for no matter how many different publications in my lifetime, I will never forget my first Monday night pitch meeting for The Good Five Cent Cigar.
Starting off college, I was hesitant about writing. I was the sports editor of my school newspaper in high school, but I was focused on sports broadcasting through the early stages of my collegiate career. However, on a Monday night in January 2022, I was convinced by Erin Brown to attend my first ever pitch meeting.
I took a women’s track and field story during my first meeting, and although it was not a journalistic wonder by any means, I realized that writing was something I should stick with, and I’ve been in the Memorial Union on Monday nights ever since.
Now, almost a full three years later, I look back to that cold January night and wonder what my life would look like today if I didn’t follow Erin to the meeting. I can’t imagine where I would be or what person I would have become, because the Cigar was where I found my voice.
While I wrote this article on my last Monday night on the first floor of the Union, I had been continually trying to force myself to think back to the games I had covered and the articles I had written. However, when I looked for highlights, they all came from the people I’ve met instead of the keyboard.
While the amount of people that have impacted me over the last three years spans over dozens of individuals, there are a few that especially stand out.
To my friends I’ve made along the way, Ryan Pelillo, David Okula, Lauren Drapeau and Sully Cummins, I truly hope that you all understand what a positive impact you all have made on my life. I’m proud of each and every one of you for not only your accomplishments inside the Cigar, but outside the office as well, and I know that all of you will continue to succeed whether it is inside the Cigar or out.
To Aniekan Okon, the man who taught me how to write. Your encouraging and outgoing attitude that I felt in my first pitch meeting was one of the reasons that I took that women’s track and field story and continued to come back. You never got to see me at my journalistic best, but I hope you know that I still think back to how much you impacted my writing in the beginning and I still think back to the advice that you gave me.
To Zack Petrick, my first college friend. College is a scary place filled with change and unfamiliar faces. I will never forget when we lost power on the second night of school and I ran into you in the hallway. We bonded over our falls being ruined by the New York Jets and our springs being dampened by the New York Rangers. However, I never anticipated the friend I would have gained in that dark hallway. You did not write with me freshman year, but when you decided to start coming to Cigar meetings to start sophomore year I was so happy that you would be growing along with me. Since your first meeting, I have seen you mature into not only a great storyteller, but a strong leader, and I am so proud of the growth you have exhibited throughout our time together.
To Nathan Robillard, the one who rode alongside me. As we now leave the Cigar, I look at all the faces in the office, some are new, some are old but only one of them has been there longer than mine… yours. You only have me beat by just one week, so don’t feel older than you already do. However, when I look around at my sports media experience, anything that I have done, you have been alongside me. From being staff reporters together, to running WRIU and even when you left the sports office, you have truly and fully been my right hand man… or maybe I’ve been yours, they are probably interchangeable terms. Regardless, I couldn’t have handpicked a better person to grow with in this program and I hope I’ve had a similar impact onto you that you have had onto me.
I will never forget the Monday night meetings, the Wednesday night games or the countless memories formed along the way. With that being said, this is how I will end my 124th and final article, only minor editorializing in this one.