If there is one highlight from my time at the University of Rhode Island, it was my career at The Good Five Cent Cigar.
After a failed attempt at getting into URI’s College of Business following my transfer from the Community College of Rhode Island, I switched my major to journalism. I started taking stories left and right for The Cigar to make up for lost time.
I walked into The Cigar office back in October 2024 during my third year of college not really knowing what to expect.
While I was only here for two years, I wrote 57 articles and produced 17 newscasts, which became the story of my entire URI experience.
Aidan Cahill, former photo editor for The Cigar, was the one who got me in. I introduced myself to the editor-in-chief, Lauren Drapeau ’24, and managing editor, Nathan Robillard ’25, and started from there.
Before joining, I had no idea how to write true, professional news, arts or feature stories. I had not written an article since high school, and my high school journalism experience did not have the structure The Cigar did.
The learning curve was steep, especially with AP Style. Even so, I kept myself grounded and stayed willing to learn and make mistakes, and I did make them. My first article was a disaster. Then news editors at the time, Ellie Sennhenn and Maia Hembruff, pretty much highlighted every word and phrase in that piece during edits.
But through patience, I was able to pick up the style and eventually produce work I was proud of. More importantly, I learned how to interview, ask the right questions, find sources, understand ethics in reporting and even dabbled in video production and editing.
Which leads me to my next point: my love for broadcast journalism was found here, too.
A huge shoutout to Newscast Editor Morganne Judd, for reaching out to me randomly on Instagram and convincing me to take video news packages. She taught me how to edit, shoot proper video and understand audio in a way that made everything click.
I learned more from her before I even stepped into JOR 221 and JOR 330. I never expected to latch onto broadcast journalism as much as I did.
Joining The Cigar was the most monumental decision I made in my college career.
Without it, I would not have the body of work I have now or the foundation I need to pursue future opportunities. This organization became my lifeline.
Especially as someone who transferred into the major in my third year and never had an internship, The Cigar became the place where I learned how to actually be a journalist.
Through my experiences, I learned that every source I ever talked to, whether student or faculty, had their own stories and voices.
This organization led me to make connections I will carry with me long after I cross the stage and enter the next chapter of my life. Graduating is a very scary thought for me. I’ve been a student for most of my life; I’ll be losing that structure, but not the skills I developed.
I will carry those lessons with me from everyone I have ever worked under or alongside for the rest of my life. Even if journalism doesn’t end up being where I land long term, I know I have a skill set built on communication, adaptability and understanding people.
I am so extraordinarily grateful for everyone at The Cigar, and for the experience it gave me. I have written for every section and done stories of all kinds, but what I will miss most are the people I worked with, laughed with, ranted to and relied on throughout my time here.
I will miss you all dearly, and I’ll always carry a piece of this place with me. I’m also excited to see what comes next. Because of everything I learned here, I know I’m not done telling stories yet.
The stories may change, but the way I see people won’t.
