Enter, stage right

June 9, 2022

Just over a month ago, my “goodbye column” was published in The Good Five Cent Cigar, aptly titled “Exit Stage Left.”

It was also my 150th article published on rhodycigar.com, which made me the most digitally-produced reporter in The Good Five Cent Cigar’s history. It was a goal I knew that I always knew I could reach, but was no easy task. I conducted countless interviews; sent even more emails; spent many hours over Zoom, on the phone and in offices all around The University of Rhode Island’s campus; received press passes to some amazing events; wrote thousands upon thousands of words; pitched as many ideas as I could — particularly challenging in a pandemic when there were hardly any entertainment events happening on-campus and locally) — and finally met my goal. It is one that I am incredibly proud of.

April 28, the date of that final issue, was also my second-to-last day of classes. Less than a month later, on May 22, I graduated summa cum laude from The University of Rhode Island. In the sweltering heat, I proudly showed off my stoles (Leadership Studies Minor graduate, Harrington School of Communication and Media Honors, Rhode Island Onyx Senior Honor Society and, of course, my Haitian flag) and the shiny, new medallion I received along with the President’s Academic Excellence Award for Journalism. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of this as well, though I also felt a mixture of “excited and scared” – to borrow some words from the late, great Stephen Sondheim, which will surely become a pattern – for the new chapter that awaited me once I crossed that stage.

So, the new chapter is here. I have received my stage direction and I’m entering stage right. 

I love writing. I have always loved writing. So, while this post might represent a “new” chapter, it’s only truly new in format. Writing is what comes most naturally to me, and I’m excited – and not scared – to get back into it, and share that writing with the world again. 

Thank you for reading and for entering the world of the hat with me.

Yours truly,

Kayla Laguerre-Lewis