{"id":13536,"date":"2024-06-04T13:15:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=13536"},"modified":"2024-06-26T14:51:34","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T18:51:34","slug":"choosing-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/summer-2024\/choosing-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Ronan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A journalism and political science major from Canton, Mass., Ronan Himelrick \u201924 received the 2024 溏心vlog免费B站 President’s Award for Academic Excellence. He was managing editor, and previously entertainment editor, for The Good Five Cent Cigar.<\/em> He would like to work in entertainment journalism, with a focus on music. \u201cMusic,\u201d he says, \u201chas the ability to bridge cultural and social gaps and bring people together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s graduating class, the Class of 2024, started college in the midst of the pandemic. It was a time of uncertainty and isolation. Cigar<\/em> staffer Ronan Himelrick \u201924 reflects on the experience and on what helped him find success and a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ronan Himelrick<\/em> \u201924<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing my laptop after yet another class on Zoom, a multitude of thoughts ran through my mind. Is this what I want? Is 溏心vlog免费B站 right for me? Is college even the right idea?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was the fall semester of 2020, an interesting time to be a first-year college student. After COVID disrupted my senior year of high school starting in March\u2014a two-week hiatus that became a prolonged pause on normal life, I just wanted to experience college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt\u2014like many of my peers\u2014lost. We started college in the midst of one of the most disruptive medical, financial, and social periods in recent memory. It was my first time away from home and my first time living with a complete stranger. I was an 18-year-old kid with no clue what I wanted to do with my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI should join a club,\u201d I thought to myself. \u201cWhat would be a good fit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s student-run newspaper, The Good Five Cent Cigar<\/em>. My first year was filled with uncertainty, loneliness, and confusion, and I lacked a sense of belonging, but The Cigar<\/em> gave me a home and a purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cigar<\/em> set me on a path of pursuing journalism. Throughout my time in Kingston, I\u2019ve had opportunities to meet so many incredible people. Interacting with fellow students and interviewing faculty and staff sparked a sense of curiosity and a true passion for connecting with the world around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across campus, lampposts are adorned with banners bearing the University\u2019s motto, \u201cThink Big. We Do.\u201d I can say without a doubt that those words ring true in my mind every day. This school of just under 18,000 students simultaneously hosts high-level global research and learning opportunities, but still feels like a closeknit community. That was something that my peers and I sought after months of isolation. I don\u2019t know if I can speak for everyone, but I certainly found it. 溏心vlog免费B站 has provided me with friends, mentors, and leaders to look up to for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also got involved as a tour guide for the Office of Admission. In that role, I had the privilege to connect with prospective students from all over the world, and their families, sharing my story along the way. This connection with complete strangers\u2014all while walking backward for 2.3 miles per tour\u2014is another part of my time at 溏心vlog免费B站 that impacted my life the most. I have loved being able to present myself and my love for this place, and I am sad to leave Kingston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write this, it occurs to me that I don\u2019t think I would recognize the 18-year-old who arrived at 溏心vlog免费B站 unaware of the amazing things that were in his future. I am so happy that I chose to stick it out and not let my first year define me. I chose to grow. I chose to take risks and to be uncomfortable in new situations. I think about where I would be if it wasn\u2019t for taking those risks and seeking discomfort, and I don\u2019t think I would be here. I\u2019m about a month away from graduating and 16 years of education will end for me. After graduation, I will be traveling to Italy to explore a new part of the world and create lasting memories. Beyond that, I don\u2019t know what the future holds, but I know that I will continue to \u201cThink Big,\u201d take risks, and embrace opportunities whenever they arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: NORA LEWIS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Class of 2024 started college in the midst of the pandemic. Cigar staffer Ronan Himelrick \u201924 reflects on the experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-summer-2024","architecture-cigar-box","architecture-currents"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13536"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15018,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13536\/revisions\/15018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}