{"id":14414,"date":"2025-02-27T14:19:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T19:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/?p=14414"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:20:13","slug":"ellie-sennhenn-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/news\/spotlight\/2025\/02\/27\/ellie-sennhenn-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Ellie Sennhenn ’26"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ellie Sennhenn ’26, journalism<\/a> and professional and public writing<\/a>, found her passion for storytelling after switching from psychology to journalism. Starting as a staff reporter for The Good Five Cent Cigar<\/a>, she eventually became Editor-in-Chief. Through her experiences, she gained confidence in her writing and leadership skills. Ellie encourages new students to embrace change, reminding them that college is a chance to discover what excites them.<\/span><\/p>\n

What inspired you to study writing and journalism?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

I have always wanted to tell stories. Important stories, needed stories, unheard stories. And I<\/span> started writing to do just that. It feels like I have been a writer since I could hold a pen, but I<\/span> specifically remember writing poetry in elementary school about my personal life. It was an<\/span> outlet for me, and now I want to be an outlet for others. Journalists, at least in my opinion, give<\/span> communities a voice, and I love that deeply. I want my articles, videos, or photos to make people<\/span> feel heard and understood.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Why did you choose to attend URI?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

I attended URI because of its geographical location. I grew up going to Avalon, New Jersey, and<\/span> loved the time with my family. However, I would always dream about New England beaches and<\/span> woodland areas. A lot of my non-journalistic writing has to do with nature and life, so I chose<\/span> Rhode Island because the atmosphere inspired me.<\/span> I originally applied to URI as a psychology major, but realized within the first week that it wasn\u2019t for me. I am so glad I chose URI because of its opportunities for branding, professional<\/span> development, and skills-driven courses in media. Being a peer mentor for the College of Arts and<\/span> Sciences, as well as a brand ambassador for the Harrington School, has embedded me within the<\/span> URI community and I couldn\u2019t be more happy. Each semester I learn more about journalism and<\/span> how it extends far beyond stories in my old pink bedroom.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

How has your role in The Good Five Cent Cigar changed since you first started, and<\/b> how has Harrington supported you in that growth?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

I stumbled into The Good Five Cent Cigar\u2019s first pitch meeting of the Fall 2022 semester without<\/span> ever having written a newspaper article. I barely spoke in high school and was that shy girl in the<\/span> b<\/span>ack of class with a book and a friendship bracelet kit. I had no public speaking skills and not a<\/span> lot of confidence. I started contributing each week to the paper, grew more confident in sending<\/span> emails, interviewing, and got the role of staff reporter that next semester. Then, I became a news<\/span> editor and learned how to lead a group of reporters. Now, as Editor-in-Chief, I lead the whole<\/span> newsroom. So far, I facilitated a social media and print layout rebranding, got weekly copies to<\/span> the Narragansett Bay Campus and URI Health Services, and hosted the video newscast. It is<\/span> especially valuable to communicate with University leaders and student organizations to be an<\/span> accurate and valuable student voice.<\/span> The Harrington School has supported me in this growth immensely, with a broad range of<\/span> courses, double majors and minors. I was able to major in Professional and Public Writing<\/span> alongside Journalism, and am in the Honors program. Having classes in media ethics and <\/span>p<\/span>hotojournalism are so important, but learning about topics like the United States and Mexico<\/span> b<\/span>order are just as important. Harrington gives me so many avenues and perspectives on my<\/span> future career as a multimedia journalist.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s one piece of advice you wish you had when you first started college?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

When I first started college, I wish I had known that it is okay to change. It is okay to take<\/span> chances and change your mind, or even your field of study. I tried to pursue a career in science<\/span> b<\/span>ecause I did not have public speaking skills and thought it was safe. I did not believe that<\/span> college would help me develop that skill and so many more. Essentially: Believe in your ability<\/span> to grow.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

What has been your favorite memory or class at URI?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

My favorite memory at URI is sitting on the Quad between classes and laying in the sun.<\/span> Especially when it is nice out, seeing all the students on blankets and with friends \u2013 or even a<\/span> b<\/span>ook or a soccer ball \u2013 makes me so happy I chose to go to college. Sometimes, relaxing is just<\/span> as important as academics.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Ellie Sennhenn, Journalism & Professional and Public Writing, class of 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3771,"featured_media":14415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[108,98,18,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-108","category-journalism","category-spotlight","category-student-profile"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3771"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14414"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14493,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14414\/revisions\/14493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/harrington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}