Today, July 26, 2026, was the first of my six days at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalist. Even though I hadn’t packed until the very last minute, I managed to get all my clothing, electronics, snacks, water, bedding, hygiene and bathroom products, and camera set up in my duffel bag before I left home. Luckily, where I’m from, Brentwood, isn’t too far from Stony Brook, so I was able to arrive within 40 minutes of leaving home and have my parents wish me a farewell around 3 p.m.
Today we participated in a few activities to kick off what will be a busy set of weekdays filled with workshops, lectures, projects, and trips. We reviewed the schedule for the week, got a short presentation by housing, and did a few icebreakers — including discussing what journalistic work we are most proud of so far — all in the downstairs lounge at Hendrix Hall. From there, we went to the newsroom, where we got an introduction to the Greene Gazette website where we would be posting blogs (like this one!) over the next couple of days. Dinner, which consisted of burgers, beef and rice, mac & cheese, and a dessert of an ice cream cone was definitely solid and marked the end to today’s schedule.
While today the lightest of the next six following days, Stony Brook has already proven to be an incredible experience. The most exciting part of my introduction to Stony Brook, by far, has been the dorm-room experience. Me, Parker, Myles, Noah, and Greg are sharing a suite on the second floor of Hendrix Hall, with myself and Myles sharing room C with our respective beds and desks. Although my setup is on the simpler side, I’ve been able to get myself pretty comfortable in my belongings and prepare myself for the projects we will be doing starting tomorrow!
