Author: Briana Dworsak

Another day, another lesson. Today, at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists, the Greene Team took on news anchoring, and the control room! The first job I took on was graphics, and making sure the right animations came on at the right time. Since this was very new to me, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I soon got in the flow of things after doing two run-throughs and loved working in the control room! The funnest part definitely was being an anchor. Prior to this program, I never thought of being in front of a camera. It’s not that it was outside of my comfort zone, but it was never in my designated career path. I was able to record with Haru Dukanac, as we easily flowed through the script with no complications. Beforehand, I was a little nervous but, once I was in front of the camera, it came naturally to me! I loved talking and taking part of a big role like a news anchor, which I might consider in the near future!

-Briana Dworsak, Baldwin High School

Photo by Jonnae Greene

It’s the second day at the Robert W. Greene Institute, and today was full of new opportunities, and learning lessons. From the pep talks and early morning brainstorming, it was all worth taking in. Getting assigned my team with Parker and Jonnae was thrilling as I knew we would be able to work well together, and strategize ideas for our upcoming group work! Once we got to work with the cameras hands-on, we instantly took the chance to capture pictures and videos near the water fountain. Getting to explore some parts of the campus through the camera lens was exhilarating!

Photo by Parker Silberman

As the day came to a close after dinner, me and the other students in the Greene program spent the rest of the night hanging out in the basement! We took the chance to play Uno, ping-pong, and pool. Getting to connect with everyone is exciting as we all got close fairly quick. Today was another day full of teaching moments, and ways to build on friendships!

-Briana Dworsak, Baldwin High School

(Pictures by Briana Dworsak and Haru Dukanac)

Today was an interesting first day at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute! New atmosphere, different people, and a week full of activities! The drive to Stony Brook University was easygoing, and meeting my roommate was even better. Getting settled in moved along quickly. The newsroom was a sight to behold, I felt like I was in the right place. The array of computers, and the occasional sound of the air conditioning weirdly excited me for the next few days I would be spending there. Later in the evening, my new friends and I walked to the dining hall for dinner. Soon after, we spent the rest of this exciting night dedicated to making bonds with the other students in the program. This first day definitely made me ecstatic for the next five days ahead!

– Briana Dworsak, Baldwin High School

Today was our third day at the Robert W. Greene Institute, and it was full of great experiences. I never thought I would be standing in the building of Newsday. It was a phenomenal opportunity being able to meet with people with such high expertise in their field. Something I learned today was that Newsday offers internships and is looking for a features writer. This excited me because I dream of working at The New York Times as a features writer for social media in the near future. After a fact-filled tour at Newsday, we boarded the bus to head to the Ducks’ stadium, also known as Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

Once we arrived at the stadium, Parker, Jonnae, and I instantly started to work on our project. The project was to capture B-roll shots and to interview the fans there. We attended a press conference in the press box along with the rest of the Greene Team, questioning Michael Polak, who is the vice president of communications for the Long Island Ducks. He easily and happily answered our questions, and he gave a different answer to each of us.

It was refreshing to be able to relate to him about sports journalism. “I knew I wasn’t going to play baseball professionally after high school, so I wanted to incorporate my knowledge of baseball into my work,” Polak said. As someone who used to have an interest in sports journalism, I was able to understand him, because I had the same thinking, except I wanted to report on women’s softball.

I am so grateful to be a part of these wonderful opportunities, to insert my perspective into other people’s stories, and to know how to put myself in their shoes.

As the night slowed down, some of my teammates and I hung out in the basement to listen to music, eat snacks, and play ping-pong!

—Briana Dworsak, Baldwin High School