Rob Borkowski graduated from University of Rhode Island with a BA in journalism, sent out his resumes, beat the streets, and found himself mixing paint for a national do-it-yourself retailer. Sure, there were lots of colors and colorful colleagues, but there wasn’t much writing.
While continuing to search for a writing job, he landed a position delivering popcorn for Boston Popcorn. While driving his route through pre – Big Dig Boston 3 a.m. to 7 p.m., in jeans and a sweatshirt, he would deliver boxes of popcorn to the World Trade Center at the wharf. While there, he saw women in business suits, and men in jackets and ties. After working half the day lugging boxes through slush-filled city streets, Rob didn’t compare favorably with the clientele of the World Trade Center.
A few months later, Rob found a writing job working for the Kent County Daily Times. His work there drew the interest of the editor for the Coventry Courier, and he spent three years as that paper’s first full-time reporter. Years later, after his first year as a newspaper editor for the Weston Town Crier with Community Newspaper Company, Rob attended an awards dinner for the New England News Association to accept an award for his newspaper for general excellence, in the World Trade Center.
He wore a suit and tie.