It is almost a surreal feeling that my time at the University of Rhode Island has come to an end. I am who I am today because of the people I have met here, the incredible experiences I have had and classes I have taken. I truly can not put into words how much this university means to me, but I will give it a try.

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Before I even stepped foot on the University of Rhode Island campus I knew I wanted to be a journalist. I was never interested in reporting in a war zone or reporting on city hall meetings, my dream was focused on sports. Once I got to URI, the four years of journalism classes and experiences helped me take that dream and turn it into a career.

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Since I first stepped foot on campus I knew what I wanted to do. I was hungry to learn as much as I could about journalism. That hunger led me to get involved with both The Good Five Cent Cigar and WRIU, the student-run newspaper and radio station, respectively. 

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In my senior year I interned as a reporter for GoRhody.com, the official website of The University of Rhode Island Athletics. My responsibilities were reporting on both men’s and women’s basketball programs and doing features on some of URI’s extraordinary student-athletes. I start my introduction off with this experience because it was the culmination of all my experiences, classes and growth as a journalist. Without the experiences from my first day on campus I would not be able to successfully report in my final semester.    

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During my time at The Good Five Cent Cigar, from the first meeting I attended, I was able to learn information that I will carry with me for my entire professional career. I will never forget the first coach I interviewed. It was the women’s volleyball coach and I was terrified to go up to him after the match. I went up and using what little volleyball knowledge I had, I was able to muster up two questions for him. Since then I have only grown in my interviewing and reporting skills. I would eventually work my way up to being elected the Sports Editor. Being the editor was a tough task, but I was truly able to grasp how challenging this profession can be. Having to not only look over your work, but all of your reporter’s work and also help edit the other sections was challenging at first. In my four years at URI, the Cigar played an integral role in my development as a journalist and as a person.

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Along with the Cigar, I immediately joined the student run radio station. At WRIU I was able to grow comfortable with not only writing, but making my writing come to life by broadcasting it. I will never forget my first broadcast. It was a men’s soccer game, again a sport I knew nothing about, and right from the start I called my broadcast partner the wrong name. From there I only got better. Being able to cover some of the biggest games on campus and even being able to travel to other schools to call games.

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Overall throughout my classes, internships and other experiences I am ready to graduate and start my professional career. Something I would not be ready to do without the people and experiences at URI. In this portfolio you will find that evidence and essays showing that I have satisfied the five learning outcomes required to graduate. Hope you enjoy!

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-Nick Cardi

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