2026 Greene Institute: El primero día

By Gregory Valestin
Brooklyn Technical High School

How I organized the desk on my side of the room I’m staying in. Gregory Valestin/Greene Team, July 26

So… I packed up a whole ton of stuff and hauled it almost 50 miles east to Stony Brook University to attend the Greene Institute.

Almost immediately after setting up shop in my dorm room and saying goodbye to my mom and siblings, I was shuffled down to a meeting where we all did some icebreakers and learned our schedule. We then headed to the newsroom, where we were introduced to this website where we’ll be posting blogs daily for the rest of our time here.

The amount of dessert options at the café is crazy. Goodness gracious, you shouldn’t give a teenager this kind of power. Gregory Valestin/Greene Team, July 26

Lunch: I’d already eaten on the journey here, so I didn’t get much. The donut was not to my liking. Gregory Valestin/Greene Team, July 26

And after that, we went to the cafeteria and boy were there options. Burgers, rice, mac and cheese. And don’t get me started on the desserts! Cupcakes, crumb cake, and donuts! Man, I’m going to be stoked eating here for five days.

And finally, after we ate, we were given a briefing on how to behave on the campus and were sent back up to our dorms, where I currently am writing this. This is shaping up to be an exciting, educational, and memorable experience, and I’m already hitting it off with my roommates!

See you tomorrow. God bless, Greg.