Month: July 2026

I was actually on time to breakfast this morning. The food was delicious!!! They were playing upbeat music in the cafeteria, and I slept like a baby last night – all signs this eventful day is gonna be great!

My group, Asher, Myles, and I, visited Stony Brook University Hospital to interview the pediatric nurses about the construction for the extended pediatric emergency unit. I was in charge of asking questions. It was a great experience to learn a proper interview process with a camera and team. I have curated various interview articles and one video in the past for my school paper. But now I learned improved ways to execute it. For example, ask questions near the camera so they have somewhere to look, make sure the interviewee answers in complete sentences so that when it’s edited (so the audience understands what they are talking about), and asking the interviewee if there’s anything I haven’t asked yet or discussed. The staff at the hospital was very kind and accommodating to our footage requests.

Eventually, we took a trip to Newsday where we got speeches and tours from very important figures in the news media. I appreciated the first speaker, Joye Brown, who discussed her experience of how she was originally pre-med in college, but then switched over to journalism. Throughout youth, I believe that many are pushed into the world of STEM as the only way to be successful. However, as I viewed the countless computers and advanced tech in the rooms, I realized this path is achievable and you can make a career out of journalism with grit.

After our interesting trip, we went into the Seawolves bus to Ducks Stadium in Central Islip. I felt kind of proud since we passed by my hometown and high school, Central Islip on our way. Ducks Stadium was an amazing experience. One of the Greene Team’s reporting teams interviewed and recorded footage of the Ducks Communications Vice President Michael Polak. He elaborated on how he ensures that they try to make baseball as accessible to the community as possible and bring families together. Behind this organization, there is a wide range of funding from large corporations to small, local businesses.

And I was able to feel their togetherness efforts when I was there. The workers gave us a cool Ducks-themed hat as we entered. I hung out with my friend, Yennifer Soriano, the entire time, figuring out how baseball works, having great food, and rooting for the Long Island Ducks!

Today was the best day so far of the Greene Summer Institute. But I still have high hopes for the thrilling adventures ahead!

-Kayci Guardado, Central Islip High School

Day 3 started at around 7 am where I struggled to get up due to how tired I was from Day 1. After finally getting out of bed around 7:30 I quickly showered, dressed myself, packed my bag, and then met everybody downstairs.

After a quick breakfast of yogurt and potatoes we headed over to the newsroom for work time with my group. My project is about the effort to clean up Long Island and make it beautiful. We started by meeting our group leader, Able News Reporter Emily Sauchelli. She helped us find the people we need to talk to and come up with questions to ask. After a bit of emailing, we got a few interviews set up for the next couple of days.

At around 12, we quickly headed to lunch for a yummy break. After eating we had a short stop at the newsroom before boarding our bus and heading to Newsday in Melville.

At Newsday, we got to meet a lot of reporters and journalists and editors. It was a really cool look into the inner working and actual people in the industry.

Heading back on the bus, we quickly got to the Ducks baseball game where we met LI Ducks Communications Vice President Michael Polak. He gave us some awesome information on reporting for sports and we had a very productive press conference. After that we ate dinner, watched the rest of the game, and headed back to the dorms for the night.

Today was a bit busy but lots of fun and worth the car rides. Tomorrow is shaping up to be just as good with our trip to the news station.

Until then!

-Noah Eichenholtz, Hendrick Hudson High School

Day 3 started with another inspiring pep talk from a seasoned journalist, News12 Reporter and Press Club of Long Island President Cecelia Dowd. We wasted no time in going right into group work. We were given our assignments by our mentor and started research. We headed off to Newsday’s building in Melville and got a tour as well as an inside look at how they do things. We ended the day going to the Ducks game in Central Islip. We attended a press conference with LI Ducks Communications Vice President Michael Polak. Then my team interviewed families for our assignments.

-Parker Silberman, Longwood High School

Today was Day 3 of the Greene Team, another productive and exciting day. Early morning, we heard from past Greene Team members and listened to their experiences in the workplace. Along with this, my group and I planned and organized our essay. We had Zoom meetings and brainstormed any questions we had for our subject tomorrow.

In the afternoon, we traveled to Melville, where Newsday’s headquarters is located. The building was so nice and spacious, and it was amazing seeing all the different journalists. From finance to sports, there is always someone covering a topic. The highlight of the trip was heading to the newsroom, where we saw behind the scenes of news broadcasts and met the news anchor himself, Ken Buffa.

After Newsday, we headed to the Ducks game, which was such a fun way to end the busy day. I enjoyed a great game, had fun with my friends, and ate a delicious hotdog! I look forward to what tomorrow has in store!

-Isabella Davis, Sacred Heart Academy

This morning my team got two assignments for the program – a profile for Neil Kohler about Tiny Vinyls, and a news package for the Ducks game. When we arrived to the newsroom we had a motivational pep talk over Zoom from WCSC-TV Multimedia Journalist Maya Brown. Next, our group met with our mentor and team leader, Jamie Stuart. We received excellent points from him which helped our team prepare for the game.

At the game I was able to be a reporter. I also interviewed fans. Further, I got to sit in on a press conference with Michael Polak, which helped us form a strong story for our news package. I’ve never watched baseball before, so it was a new experience, and it was great to learn the plays and new terms associated with the sport. Today was a lot of fun and it was great to see the Ducks mascot, Quacker Jack!

-Jonnae Greene, Baldwin High School

Today marked the official half-way point of our time at the Robert W. Greene institute — and by far the most eventful day for us.

We only ate food on campus for breakfast and lunch for today. I got myself some French toast and scrambled eggs alongside some orange juice for breakfast. Lunch consisted of a chicken sandwich, some pork and yellow rice, and some mozzarella sticks with a side of a coke. These meals were alright, but the french toast in the morning was chewy (?) and the chicken sandwich for lunch was underwhelming (more breading and air than actual chicken in that sandwich!!)

My team tried to make progress in contacting the researchers for the penguin feature story. But thus far, even with emails and phone calls/voicemails, we have only been semi- successful in reaching researcher Michael Polito from California. Regarding the Music Hall of Fame piece we’re also doing (which will include a video as well), we’re all good to go for the trip over to the hall tomorrow and interview founder Co-founder Norman Prusslin.

After lunch, we had two field trips over to Newsday and a Long Island Ducks game at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip. At Newsday, we explored the building, got to meet the main anchor and podcast host for TikTawk, and see what things look like behind the camera. From there, we traveled to see a Ducks vs FerryHawks game, where we got Duck Bills to spend on food and enjoy the first few innings. For both trips, we got the chance to practice with our cameras as well. Because of these adventures, it took us until 9:15 to get back to campus, which gave us the opportunity for a late curfew!

-Christopher Cabrera, Brentwood High School

On the third day of my week in Stony Brook, we were given the opportunity to go out into the field and explore journalistic endeavors. In the morning, my teammates and I interviewed Karen Levitov, the director and curator of the Paul W. Zuccaire Art Gallery on Stony Brook University’s campus. The current exhibition held in the gallery is called Noah W. Andersomn: Black Excellence. Anderson created artwork that captured the success and the grievances of African Americans through the use of digital editing and woven tapestries.

In the afternoon, we visited the Newsday studio and were able to ask professionals about their careers and how they got there. After that, we ended day with the Atlantic League Battle of the Belt between the Long Island Ducks and Staten Island Ferryhawks at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip.

-Yasmin Bardales, Hempstead High School

The past two days, days 3 and 4 at this program, have been filled with significantly more work than the first two. Teams are officially working on their stories, contacting researchers and interview subjects as well as conducting research on the topics themselves. That includes our Greene Team as a whole going on trips to places in Long Island, and holding small press conferences with professionals.

Yesterday, the team took a trip to Newsday, where we saw what the workplace looked like as well as receiving advice and hearing about personal experiences from workers in the newspaper. Then, we headed to the Ducks game, where one of the teams focused on interviews, a press conference with Ducks Communications Vice President Michael Polak, and photos for their own report.

This morning, everyone on the Greene team dressed up to practice broadcasting, whether it be a news anchor, reporter, or a producer/manager working on the more technical aspects. I worked as a news anchor, which I really enjoyed. Sitting in front of the camera in that position was something I hadn’t done before, nor got the opportunity for, but I would eagerly do it again.

-Haru Dukanac, Eastchester High School

For journalism reasons. Obviously. Myles, Kayci and I all went to the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital to do a video package on the expansion of its emergency room.

It was very fun! The lady, who I am blanking on the name of, was very nice. The whole area was very nice (It was also very hot out). The hospital rooms had mock stained-glass lights on the ceiling that looked like animals, such as a dragon fly or a butterfly.

Myles is a very good photographer. As I’m writing this. he is sitting next to me (I am scared he will see me typing this) and editing a photo he took of me last night. Kayci and I let him do most of the video stuff. We both asked questions to the nurse and helped figure out locations for shots. And Frank Posillico (teacher) helped Myles with locations and shot setups.

They said the new pediatric wing is going to be fish-themed, which, if you know me, you know I think that’s awesome. I’m a huge fish lover. Not that I eat them — you may remember that I’m vegetarian. I’m the only one in my family that doesn’t eat fish sushi (I get avocado).

Anyway, the hospital was fun. Stony Brook is sort of known for its medical stuff. I have a friend who’s planning on going here to become a pediatric doctor. Very on theme for my day.

-Asher Squires, Miller Place High School