Our Staff

  Juliana Lepore, Editor-in-Chief

Juliana is a third-year journalism and communications major with a minor in political science from Brookfield, Connecticut. She joined the Cigar her freshman year and has worked as a contributing reporter, staff reporter and news editor prior to becoming editor-in-chief. Outside of the Cigar, Juliana is also a member of Chi Omega, where she’s held multiple chair positions, and a URI101 mentor. She enjoys coffee, podcasts, spending time with friends and going to yoga classes, whenever she has a chance. After graduation, Juliana’s dream job is to work in a city and report on the red carpet at the Grammys. Her phone number is 203-456-5197 and she can be reached at [email protected].

Ronan Himelrick, Managing Editor

Ronan is a third-year journalism and political science student, originally from Canton, Massachusetts. This is his third year with the Cigar and he has spent time as a contributing reporter, entertainment editor, podcast manager, social media coordinator and host of the “Ronan Report.” Outside of the Cigar, Ronan enjoys spending time with friends, listening to music, cooking, giving tours as a Tour Guide, and cheering on Rhody athletics! Upon graduation, Ronan hopes to work in the entertainment journalism field, with a major focus on music. He can be reached by phone at 781-364-7509 or by email at [email protected] 

Liz Fusco, News Editor

Liz is a fourth-year student from North Kingstown, Rhode Island double majoring in journalism and English with a minor in writing and rhetoric.  This is Liz’s third semester as news editor. She has been apart of the Cigar since her freshman year and has previously held positions as contributing reporter and staff reporter. Outside of the Cigar, she works as the student advisor to the journalism department! In her free time she likes to teach and take dance classes, read, play piano and guitar, obsess over her dog, Nuna, and listen to music. After graduation, Liz hopes to work as a fiction book editor for a publishing company or a political journalist. She can be reached at 401-626-2585 or by email at [email protected]

Claudia Stepien, News Editor

Claudia is a fourth-year student from Woonsocket, Rhode Island majoring in journalism, English, and political science. She worked as a contributing reporter, staff reporter and web editor before coming into her current position as a news editor. Outside of the Cigar, Claudia interns for The Ocean State Review, works as a student office assistant in the Office of the President, is an Arts and Sciences peer mentor and a Harrington peer. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, crocheting, playing video games, listening to Taylor Swift and hanging out with friends. After graduation, her dream is to edit romance books at a publishing company and someday write her own novels. She can be reached at 401-659-7040 or [email protected]

David Broccoli, Entertainment Editor

David is a fourth-year journalism student from North Kingstown, Rhode Island. This is his second year with the cigar as he previously attended the Community College of Rhode Island to begin his journalism studies. He started off as a contributing reporter, then a staff reporter and is ending off at the entertainment editor. Outside of the cigar, David enjoys playing video games, spending time with friends and family, cooking/baking, watching movies, and listening to music, especially K-Pop. His favorite K-Pop bands are Stray Kids, Twice, Seventeen, NCT and Red Velvet. He also loves DC and Marvel comics, Star Wars, Super Mario, Super Smash Bros, Mortal Kombat and collecting Legos. After graduation, David’s dream job is to work in the entertainment journalism field and one day hopefully become a host for an entertainment news show. He can be reached by phone at (401)741-3376 or by email at [email protected] 

Nathan Robillard, Sports Editor

Nathan is a second-year student from Middletown, Connecticut double-majoring in sports media and journalism. In his last two semesters with the Cigar, he’s worked as a contributing reporter and staff reporter before moving into the sports editor role. Nathan is also the RIU2 sports director at WRIU 90.3 Kingston, URI’s student-run radio station. He’s worked on broadcasts for various games across URI athletics on both WRIU and ESPN+, and hopes to pursue a career in sports broadcasting. Nathan is also a huge soccer fan, and enjoys playing tennis and running in his spare time. Outside of his passion for athletics, Nathan is also a huge hiking fan. In June, he plans to hike Angels Landing in Utah, one of the National Park System’s most dangerous hikes. He can be reached at (860)-985-0076 or by email at [email protected].

Alexa Potamianos, Newscast Editor

 

Maddie Bataille, Photo Editor

Maddie Bataille is a Senior at URI. She is studying journalism and Spanish with a minor in gender and women’s studies. This is her third semester as Photo Editor. Maddie’s favorite memory from URI has been spending a summer in Spain studying.

Aidan Cahill, Web Editor

Aidan is a first-year from Providence, Rhode Island who is currently undeclared, but looking to major in Journalism and English with a creative writing concentration. While only in his second semester with the Cigar, he previously held a position as a Staff Photographer. Outside of the Cigar, he is involved with the Musician’s Guild and RIU2. He enjoys playing guitar, cooking, taking photos, playing video games, exploring, and listening to music. Currently, his favorite bands are the Front Bottoms and Peach Pit, but he enjoys music in almost every genre. He is unsure of what he wants to do after graduating, but would like to be involved with journalism and or the arts. He can be reached at (401)-484-2471 or by email at [email protected]

Jenny Arnold, Social Media Coordinator 

Jenny is a second-year communications major and public relations minor from Livingston, New Jersey. She joined the Cigar last semester and is excited to be moving into the social media coordinator role. Outside of the Cigar, Jenny is a member of Sigma Kappa where she is very involved, along with Hillel. She enjoys going to the gym, listening to music, journaling, and spending time with friends. After graduation, Jenny hopes to do public relations for a beauty or entertainment company in New York City. She can be reached by phone at 973-699-4813 or by email at [email protected]

Molly Cronin, Business Manager

Molly is a third-year marketing major with a digital media minor from Quincy, Massachusetts. This is her first year with the Good Five Cent Cigar, but she has always wanted to be involved with the group. In addition to the Cigar, Molly is involved with her sorority, Delta Zeta, along with Diversity Dialogues, Women in Business, the American Marketing Association, Delta Sigma Pi, and Tour Guiding. Molly also enjoys working on art projects, traveling and doing anything that involves her friends. After graduation, who knows where she will end up but hopefully wherever that is will make her happy. Molly can be reached at 857-939-4423 or [email protected] .