There was no “me” before I met the Cigar. I know how silly that sounds – a college newspaper having such a profound impact on my very sense of being. But really, it’s an understatement. My first visit to the office was through a computer screen in my parents’ basement. I sat wide eyed, watching…
I still have the text that former editor-in-chief, Kate LeBlanc, sent to me after the first story that I wrote for the Good Five Cent Cigar my freshman year. If it weren’t for her kindness and care, I can’t imagine where I would be today. The Good Five Cent Cigar changed my life. This paper…
It is crazy to think that the last three and a half years are almost up. Joining the Cigar as a first-year student in September 2020 simultaneously feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago. Little did my 18-year-old self know how important of a decision that was. Although my byline has been absent from this…
This time last year, I ran for Business Manager only knowing about the Good Five Cent Cigar from what Juliana Lepore had told me. She spoke of wonderful people and great opportunities, but most of all, of a community within the University that was unlike any other. I was hesitant to join the group after…
I am a firm believer that every experience you have is defined by the people going through it with you. This has been true throughout my past four years at URI, and the Cigar is certainly no exception. I first joined the second semester my second year. As a film major, I wanted to gain…
Three weeks into my first year, I grew the courage to join my first Good Five Cent Cigar meeting. I had no idea how much the organization would mean to me four years later. I knew nothing about writing articles. Admittedly, I only joined the Cigar to do the newscast, but my insecurities called me…
When I first started my time at the Cigar, nothing could have prepared me for how much of an impact this organization would have on my life. Coming into the school as a scared freshman and no idea how to write in a journalistic style, the idea of writing for the student newspaper scared the…
Every Wednesday and every Monday, I sit down at the table in the office that lives behind the hair salon downstairs in the Memorial Union. At least, that’s how we tell people they can find it. Whether I’m the first one in the door (I’m seldom these days) or the last, I know the lower…
Oh man, do I regret not joining the Cigar earlier in my college career. When studying journalism at the University, I heard talks of this certain student news organization come up. An organization that sounded so intimidating for me, a freshman at the time, that I shied away from joining. For three straight years I…
My time working at the Cigar was absolutely incredible. I was able to follow my passion for sports photography and meet new people. It was a perfect opportunity to get busy doing something else when school was just too overwhelming. Picking up the paper every week and seeing my work gave a sense of pride…