The teleprompter keyboard and screen in the control room. Photo by Christopher Cabrera
Today was a really busy day on campus.The first half of the day was spent doing a live broadcast activity. I got to go up on camera for the reporting and weather section and control the teleprompter with the scroll wheel, which was pretty nice!
After lunch, we got a few lectures. From there, my team went out to the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame to interview the museum’s co- founder and board member, get some quotes, shoot some b-roll photos and videos for our writing and video, which we will work on tomorrow. During that, my teammates got to interview the second penguin scientist for our piece. We also set up a Zoom call for Mike Polito tomorrow morning after a call and email communication.
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.
Unsuprisingly, the geese being geese. Photo by Christopher Cabrera on 7/28.
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!!)
Lunch on 7/28/26. Photo by Christopher Cabrera
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!
Today, for the second of six days here at Stony Brook, we all participated in a full, long day mostly within the newsroom. We had presentations by about topics including ledes, podcasting, shooting video, and using a DSLR camera (which we got to mess around with hands-on outside)
Campus Geese doing what campus geese do. Christopher Cabrera/Greene Team, July 27
Food today was solid. I had some bagels, pancakes, eggs and bacon, and a cinnamon roll for breakfast followed by some chicken for lunch, and finally some fries, mac & cheese, and butter chicken for dinner.
Today’s dinner. Christopher Cabrera/Greene Team, July 27
Additionally, my group, Group 1, were set up to work on a feature on the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame and another on researchers tracking penguin colonies with our team coach, Arielle Martinez. We also had our Instagram “takeover” day today and we uploaded a few posts and stories about the campus experience thus far (and got a nice 17 likes)!
Tomorrow will be the start of the real “meat” of the program, when we have a trip to Newsday and a Long Island Ducks game, and will be working ’til really late into the night.
View of Roth Pond next to Hendrix Hall. Christopher Cabrera/Greene Team, July 26
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.
Gregory next to the Wolfie statue. Christopher Cabrera/Greene Team, July 26
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!
