Gabrielle Sanders – Greene Gazette

The end of a Greene summer

By Gabrielle Sanders

If you were to tell me four days ago that I, and twelve other people, would be getting rained on the first day of camp — and have a bond over that — I would’ve brushed you off. But now I can’t do that because it really did happen, and it sure was an experience.

This camp had pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t think I would achieve in a long time and although I haven’t 100% broken out of my shell yet, I still appreciate the camp for putting me out there, whether it was through podcasting, recording, or networking and working with others. I believe that I was able to be more open to communication and working together with other people.

I am really thankful for this program not only for the practical skills that I have gained for the field of journalism but a potential career path and experience for myself and what I could really do with my life and future with an apperception at the fact that not many kids my age get the privilege to experience a potential career field especially at my age where picking your career or pressure to have at least some idea for what you wanna do.

Lastly, I loved the social experience, comfort, and experimentation that I was able to gain through this program. Although I may not be as open or extroverted as I thought I would get by the end of the program, I still am grateful to the fact that I have a newfound perspective on working with, speaking to, and being open to other people. And I really, ultra-appreciate everyone, especially my fellow classmates, for gifting me with such an unforgettable growing experience.

Staying in the swim with drowning prevention

By Gabrielle Sanders
Roosevelt High School

With the summer’s warm and really hot temperatures, it is the perfect time to go swimming. But drowning prevention advocates and Stony Brook Children’s Hospital officials urge everyone to keep an eye on children from ages 1 to 4 around bodies of water: Drowning, they say, is the No. 1 killer of kids that age in New York State and nationally.

The statistics in New York State are clear, according to Bobby Hazen, executive director of Stop Drowning Now. About 4,000 people die from drowning in the state every year. Hazen, who is also a founding member of the NY Safety Coalition, said that in addition to the alarming statistic for toddlers, water accidents are the second biggest killer of children from ages 5 to 14, behind traffic accidents.

Drownings of toddlers and young children aren’t just in pools or at beaches. This past September, two sisters, ages 2 and 4, drowned in a pond on their Holtsville apartment complex property after they had wandered from their apartment. Rescuers speculated that one child may have fallen in, and the other tried to help. In a story from CBS News, a neighbor said, “How do these things happen? That’s why they’re called tragic accidents. They have a gate. They have all the safety precautions. I’ve never seen the children left unattended.”

SUFFOLK COUNTY DROWNING PREVENTION ROUNDTABLE CONVENED TO ADDRESS COUNTY’S ALARMING RISE IN DROWNINGS. Organized by The ZAC Foundation, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, and Stop Drowning Now, Roundtable will Bring Together Water Safety Experts, Advocates, and Affected Families with the Goal of Launching the First-Ever Suffolk County Drowning Prevention Action Plan On Tuesday, July 1 from 11 AM – 12:30 PM at Stony Brook University Hospital. (7/1/25)

At Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, doctors are working to prevent child drowning. In July, the hospital organized a roundtable event with the ZAC Foundation and Stop Drowning Now, both water safety nonprofit organizations dedicated to preventing drownings, to discuss preventative measures not only in New York but also the nation as a whole.

A plan was created to educate parents, including a test of general knowledge of drowning prevention beforehand, followed by a video on what to expect, with the main goal being to inform parents so there is a higher success rate with drowning prevention.

Water safety experts recommend getting children comfortable with being near water at an early age and learning to swim. There are programs offered by local YMCAs, town pools, and commercial ventures, like Saf-T-Swim’s ABCs & Ds of Drowning Prevention, a widely recognized system of guidelines such as adults supervising their children when they are in or are around water. Swim classes for children are recommended as are life jackets for non-swimmers.

“When kids learn how to swim young, they are able to carry it when they are adults,” said Bruce Meirowitz, vice president of the Jones Beach Lifeguard Corps and president of the New York State Lifeguard Corps Chapter of United University Professionals. “You have to start somewhere.”

Araya White: Finding a voice in a loud world

Gabrielle Sanders
Roosevelt High School

Although she’s 16, Araya White has found something that many people fail to find at all ages – her voice.

For the rising senior at Uniondale High School, writing isn’t just a school requirement. It’s a form of expression in a loud world that can drown out voices and often silences them.

“I like to be able to actually create what I want in my writing,” she said, explaining that it’s a way for her to communicate with those around her.

Araya got her exposure to and love of journalism from an English class teacher, who had been a journalist and screenwriter. Writing, she said, is her safe place; a space where she can really show her feelings compared to other subjects, like science and math, that are more rigid.

Her need to express herself has inspired her to start a podcast. For her, she said, it’s not about followers, but about giving herself the opportunity to step out of her shy comfort zone and to speak out about issues in the real world, like nursing, healthcare and pet adoptions. “Through podcasts, I’ll be able to speak out about different problems around the world,” she said. “It’ll help me because it will give me more confidence to speak out.”

She also wants to inspire others to do the same, she said, just like she was encouraged when she saw other podcasters expressing themselves.

Of course, at the heart of anyone’s journey is family. Her dad, uncle, siblings and other family members push her to strive and do her best everyday. “Everybody just tells me to keep going, very supportive,” Araya said.

“Through podcasts, I’ll be able to speak out about different problems around the world,” she said. “It’ll help me because it will give me more confidence to speak out.”
– Araya White

“Araya has a great way of speaking to people and captivating people through her imagination,” her godmother Judith McLean said. “Araya is very amenable, very friendly and she loves to joke.”

Like most people, Araya has hobbies. For Araya, it’s baking and music. She likes them because they bring people together. “They make me more relatable,“ she said. “My hobbies make me able to speak to people.”

Araya views the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists as another opportunity to meet and speak to people. “I wanted to find something I wanted to do in high school and I really liked writing so I thought that this would be a great opportunity,” she said. She also expects to learn how to write productively so she is able to fulfill her dreams of becoming a better writer and communicator.

Whether it is through podcasting or writing in her English class, Araya will never stop striving to share her voice to the world as her story continues to unfold. “I just really like writing a lot,” she said. “It makes me happy.”

Editing 101 and the cutting room floor

By Gabrielle Sanders

Today marks our busiest day yet, working on our stories to post onto the Greene Gazette. It was the most significant surge in work throughout this whole week, but I know that the team and I will be able to handle it and show off what we had learned so far in camp.

This day really put our skills to the test, pushing us unto the boundaries, pressure and even time constraints that traditional journalist would be used to due to their experience. But, unfortunately for us, we don’t have the luxury of that same experience that the professionals are left with.

Even though this may be a challenge for us or even stressful, I still personally believe that the Greene Team can still pull through in the end.

A day at a news station

By Gabrielle Sanders

Another day rolls by at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High-School Journalist and it pushes students more into the world of journalism through behind the scenes work of what is done in the news world and stations. On top of this, we got to experience the News 12 building and learn about what they do, how they got into their positions and more.

Along with learning about news station broadcasting, we were also able to record our own news episodes through the help of the Stony Brook News, getting us used to teleprompters and the importance of still reading through a script. The fact that you have a teleprompter doesn’t mean that you should take that privilege for granted. Reading through a script gives not only you but also the viewers a more lively and real execution of the information that you are trying to deliver. On top of that, we got to operate the behind the scenes of the recording of the news, showing us the different controls and edits of live television, how to operate the teleprompter and microphone audio.

After our first-ever time recording in an example of what news broadcasting really is, we traveled down to the News 12 studio with a tour of the different departments including where they film the news that we view on television. It was a pretty big experience for all of us to be seeing the amount of work put in that everyday daily viewers cannot see.

A press conference with a senator’s aide, and a mini podcast lesson

By Gabrielle Sanders

Another day with the Greene Program and it has already taught me pretty valuable skills within not only journalism but also with other aspects of life, like public speaking. As someone who was pretty unfamiliar and has a slight aversion to speaking in front of large crowds, I found the press conference with New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo’s aide Ray Weber was an experience I never even imagined going through or seeing with my own two eyes.

Although I had a small interest in politics and political topics, I don’t think the average person imagines or let alone thinks of speaking to a person who is within the senate. Being able to ask personal questions face to face about different issues in the community, the encounter left me with a new perspective on legislations and how the people within senate handle new laws that get passed including on how they view the new idea and the different plans they have to implement to make the New York community a better and comfortable place.

The Greene Team also got to learn a bit about podcasting and audio, how to properly speak into a microphone and how to operate our podcast plus some facts about podcasting (the fact that there are 5 million plus podcast out there is crazy). I hope that after we learned the proper set up for podcasting will motivate one, some, or even all of us to create our own podcast or even collaborate on one.

My first blog post :)

By Gabrielle Sanders

Today was my first official day at The Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists and so far it has been a unique and highly different experience.

Something that I have never experienced in my entire elementary to high school career, leaving me to navigate a drastically different environment compared to what I know and what I am used to.

I have never stayed away from my family before, let alone as far as I am now, which for me, would be 40 minutes to an hour away.

I thought I would be okay being away from my family—at least in theory. But actually going through with it was a different challenge I had to face for myself. Still, I believe I can get used to, or even overcome, the anxious and uncomfortable feeling of being apart from them. I’ve never had any experience living with someone who isn’t a sibling or relative, so this is all new to me. But as I’ve started to grow more comfortable in this short amount of time, I’m learning to trust myself. I believe I can push past the fear of being away from home and eventually feel ready for the idea of going away to college.

Although I may feel a little intimidated at first by the idea of being thrown into a new environment with new people, I still believe I can improve my openness, communication, and networking. Not just with people my age, but with others outside my age group as well. Whether it’s by sharing ideas or talking about my interests, I hope to build a personal community through those connections. I think this program is doing a great job of helping me take those first steps—even if it’s just through small, quick conversations.

I really appreciate the experience of self-sufficiency, showing me what I need to improve on, like my networking, social skills, and opening up to others that aren’t people I have familiarity with, family, and friends. While I’m here, I hope I get to know everybody at camp and become more open.