For Nate Vaccaro, attending URI was a happy inevitability. Vaccaro grew up in the village of Kingston, URI’s home for those who don’t know, having a father who teaches in URI’s Electrical Engineering department and four older siblings who graduated before them. “I had looked at other schools,” Vaccaro states, “But it’s part of our family culture to go to URI. I’m familiar with the school, since I’ve been around it my whole life.” Unlike their father, however, Vaccaro took a different approach to their college studies, drawing on their high school passions to help them out. “I was homeschooled all through high school,” Vaccaro explains, “And this allowed me to explore my interests before college. I was always interested in reading and writing, and I would spend my time writing poems and novels.” Vaccaro recalls going to open houses before their freshman year with the English major in mind, but, after talking with the Writing & Rhetoric department, they quickly took a liking to how the program sounded. Torn between both, Vaccaro seized the opportunity at freshman orientation to major in both, a choice, they state, they couldn’t have been happier having made.
During their college career, Vaccaro passionately pursued both English and Writing & Rhetoric, even going on to add a minor in Italian in a desire to learn the language of their paternal lineage. With so many departments under their belt, it’s easy for Vaccaro to recall some memorable moments. “With Writing one of the most inspirational moments was my travel writing class with Heather Johnson,” Vaccaro states, “Someone made an off-handed comment one day in class about the school’s planetarium, and the next class Professor Johnson had scoped out a chance to go to the planetarium and write about it. It was really cool to be heard in that way and tie an experience like that into the genre of travel writing. It really sold me on WRT’s value as a department.”
After their experiences with both English and Writing & Rhetoric, Vaccaro strives to go on to graduate school for their MFA in poetry after their commencement in May 2019, at which point they’ll have received two B.A.’s in English and Writing & Rhetoric with a minor in Italian. Once grad school is complete, Vaccaro hopes to then, drawing on their experience working on URI’s literary magazine (ether)bound, go into the world of publishing. Though their future remains somewhat hazy, Vaccaro feels secure thanks to their connections at URI. “The faculty in the English, Writing & Rhetoric, and Italian departments are fantastic. Every professor is unique and different, and they each give a different part of something that comes together to form a richer education. URI is fruitful ground for making something of your own interest.”
Lastly, Vaccaro leaves off with a bit of advice for incoming students, stating, “Follow what you’re passionate about and what interests you. The great thing about English and Writing & Rhetoric is that the class schedule allows you to focus on what you like to study, so you can easily focus on your concentration. Students often get bogged down with thinking of the future, but URI helps hone your passions and turn it into valuable work.”
-Written by Chase Hoffman ’21