Between working as a clerical assistant at an English-language learning school and her studies and activities at Westbury High School, 17-year-old Gabriela “Gabby” Escobar is hard-pressed for time. Yet she somehow finds the time to enjoy the company of friends and family.
Gabriela’s hometown of Westbury is full of strong community ties and vibrant festivities. She grew up in a household with parents, Gloria and Cesar Escobar, who taught her the value of hard work and discipline.
Rising senior Gabriela has made a name for herself as one of Westbury’s most active students: from soccer in the fall, wrestling in the winter to flag football in the spring and even taking an active role in multiple clubs such as Newspaper Club, Key Club, Red Cross Club, My Sister’s Keeper, Student Council, French National Honor Society and Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. She will be editor-in-chief of the Newspaper Club next school year.
Gabriela said her parents have been one of the biggest inspirations in her life. “I appreciate them deeply because they always want the best for me. They keep it real and offer advice on anything.”
Gabriela’s caring nature is evident to those she spends time with. Santiago Sosa, said “Gabriela is one of my closest friends who has always been there for me in both my highs and lows.”
While considering possible careers, her school’s newspaper advisor recommended that she apply to the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists.
Although she’s not sure about what career to pursue, “I definitely want to go to college,” Gabriela said.
She believes in the power of kindness and strives to be as open-minded and compassionate as she can be.
“I’ve learned to stay positive,” she said, “knowing that at the end of the day, I still have myself and that tomorrow is a new day.”
For Jonnae Greene, transitioning from homeschooling to Baldwin Senior High School meant more than adjusting to a new classroom.
It meant overcoming assumptions about her abilities. And while many students might have been discouraged by the challenge, Jonnae used it as motivation.
“People started perceiving it as, ‘Oh, you need to catch up,'” she recalled. “And boom—I just started scoring from there.”
The 16-year-old, who has spent her whole life in Freeport, began her schooling in the Baldwin public school district’s Brookside Elementary School. She was taught at home during her middle school years. She greeted returning to a traditional classroom with arms open. Overcoming any obstacles of transitioning, she is now an award-winning, family-motivated and resilient teenager who strives to succeed via vigorous work.
“I’ll definitely say going into in person schooling, it was like you had to prove yourself, because people automatically think ‘Oh you’re homeschooled, so you’re not up to date with what other students are doing,’” she said, “but when I’m given a challenge, I become so focused on accomplishing it. So immediately when I got to school I started excelling in all my classes. You really only get one chance to do high school so I always believed I might as well do my best.”
She puts her all out there by joining the Youth Change Leader Collaborative Studios, which is a student-organized club at her school with award-winning student broadcasters. Jonnae also contributes to her school’s local news show, “What’s Bruin?” She also enjoys art, music and gaming.
Jonnae’s mother, Jamilah Greene, commented that Jonnae has always been a risk taker as well as logical and organized in achieving her goals. “Whatever her responsibilities are, she is highly disciplined. She has a remarkably high work ethic to learn.”
Jonnae credits her mother and grandmother, Beatrice, for being a major source of motivation in her life. Jonnae describes her grandma’s house as being “wrapped in warmth and encouragement.”
Jonnae’s passion for journalism began when she enrolled in her high school’s four-year media program. “At the start of high school, I knew nothing about media.” she said. “And then I was like, ‘you know what? If I put my mind to it, and I’m willing to put the effort in to make it work. I know I can start the journey immediately.’”
Her dedication and willingness to embrace new opportunities persuaded her to apply to the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists. “I hope to gain more experience.” Jonnae said. “I’m excited to network and meet people from schools all around New York. I know I want to go into college for media so this gives me insight into what steps I’ll take after I graduate.”
Isabella Davis has always been adept at socializing, which she believes defines her and is a critical attribute of becoming successful as the journalist she someday wants to be.
Isabella (Izzy), a rising junior at Sacred Heart Academy, describes Freeport, where she resides, as “a small, close-knit Catholic community” where she attended Catholic schools. “My faith has always played a huge part in my upbringing and has shaped the way I live and my perspective on life!”, she said.
Isabella believes that a part of her faith is growing to appreciate and respect other people, which fueled her interest in learning about other people’s religions, backgrounds and cultures. These interests are reflected by the activities that she does inside and outside of school. Isabella is the secretary of her school’s Spanish Club, goes to Mandarin school on Sundays and regularly teaches at St. Aidan’s Parish, a religious school in Williston Park, after school.
An especially eye-opening exposure to other cultures was going to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador for community service in February. There, she painted a K-12 school and had the opportunity to communicate with children in Spanish and English, being bilingual. She listened to different stories and how children there lived. “I gained a new perspective on what life and education is like for youth across the equator,” she explained.
Isabella’s positive attitude is attested to by her friend, Violet Dindyal, who participated with her on the school track team. “Izzy works so hard in track and always encouraged us to do our best,” Violet said. “She brings everyone together in our group, so we all feel included and supported.”
Isabella’s been surrounded by people who are more into math and science while she leans towards humanities and English. She signed up for the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute for High School Journalists this summer because she wants to meet people with her similar interests, particularly writing, and polish her skills. “It’s very rare to find someone with as many similar interests as you,” she concluded.
Every day, we make choices: what to eat, when to speak, whom to trust – without realizing we are playing a game.
The way we play that game is the subject of an annual conference at Stony Brook University’s Wang Center from July 14 to July 17. The four-day conference is organized by Boston University Assistant Economics Professor Chiara Margaria and Yale University Economics Professor Larry Samuelson.
In Game Theory, everyday decisions become moves in a larger puzzle. Game Theory breaks down how people compete, cooperate, bluff and win. Whether it’s in politics or business, Game Theory helps explain why we do what we do and how another move can affect everything.
Hundreds of scholars and students attended the 36th International Game Theory Conference at Stony Brook University from July 14 to 17, 2025
“Game Theory in its purest form is a body of theoretical techniques but is relevant to a vast range of interactions,” Samuelson said.
Game Theory uses a series of mathematical equations based on the analysis of strategies dealing with competitive situations where the outcome of a participant’s action depends on the actions of other participants, experts said.
The technique has been applied to virtually everything — such as wars, biology, the justice system, and business. Founded in the 1940s by mathematicians John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, Game Theory became more mainstream during the Cold War, as experts used it to help diplomatic negotiations and ease tensions.
Topics of discussion at the conference ranged from the academic to the practical.
“Clicks or Comments? The Quality-Quantity Trade-off of Review Systems” shared space on the packed calendar with “Vaguely Good News and Accurate Bad News: A Modular Approach” and “Optimality of Two-tier Quotas in Selection,” and dozens more.
One common real-world concept that helps explain game theory is The Prisoner’s Dilemma, a scenario that features two suspects who face different punishments depending on whether they choose to tell on their partner in crime or remain silent. The example demonstrates how two people may not cooperate even if it’s in their best interest.
The Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s — an historic event that pitted the United States against the Soviet Union over its placement of nuclear weapons in Cuba — was an example of the application of Game Theory since it was a real-world scenario of critical decision-making by world leaders.
Game Theory plays out in everyone’s day-to-day life, too, and it may be such a small scenario that you may not even notice. For example, when merging into traffic, you must make a choice: Should I speed up to merge now or slow down and wait? The other driver has to make a similar choice: Should I let this person in or change lanes? You’re often unsure if the other driver will let you in or how aggressive and patient they may be. If both drivers work together, things will go smoothly, but if one driver’s actions don’t sync with the other’s, the disconnect may cause an accident.
You make decisions based on assumptions. which is what Game Theory models.
“The Stony Brook Game Theory Conference has been around for 36 years, supported through the [National Science Foundation] grant,” co-coordinator Tim Chin said, adding that this year’s turnout was larger than usual. “This week has 200 economists and mathematicians coming from all over the world, from places such as India, China, the U.K. and other states such as California, Texas, and Florida.”
The speakers came from universities around the world including Meg Myer of Oxford University and John Levy of the University of Glasgow.
Beside enlightening attendees, Chin said the goal of the conference was “showing Stony Brook in its best light.”
The Stony Brook film festival is back for people to enjoy in-person (Photo by Miles Reese)
Movie lovers can again enjoy the in-person experience of a 1,000-seat theater at the annual Stony Brook Film Festival, offering a post-pandemic treat that can draw spectators from far beyond the Long Island venue.
Spectators and moviegoers have a lot to look forward to during the festival, which runs from July 22 to July 31. It features 35 new, independent flicks ranging from opening night’s documentary The 5th Man — about local and legendary track coach, Paul Limmer — to closing night’s French-language feature film, Final Set.
This year, each of the films will be available for virtual viewing — but only after the in-person film-watching ends. The Virtual Festival runs from August 5 through August 30.
“There’s nothing like the in-person experience,” said Festival Director Alan Inkles, who has high hopes for attendance at the week-long event at the Staller Center for the Arts on SBU’s campus.
Despite the fanfare of the return of the festival, some uncertainties remain. After all, it’s been two years since the Festival hosted a live audience. How will social distancing work? Will the movie buffs return like they did in years past?
Inkles is optimistic that they will.
When discussing the difficulty of creating such a big event year to year, Inkles made it clear that hard work always pays off in the end when it’s something you love to do.
“It’s definitely not easy,” he said during an interview over Zoom. “But with the help of my team, and the work we put in, it always pays off.”
Inkles said he always has a great time picking movies to put into the festival, adding that he and his team watch up to almost 3,000 thousand movies.
However, he said he becomes indecisive when it comes to selecting movies.
“There’s always movies that are easily decided, but there are like 300 that are so, so tough to decide on,” he said. “I wish I could add them all!”
“Can’t wait to see you there!,” said one lover of the annual film festival who chose to remain anonymous as she walked by the theater on opening day.
Rafer Guzman, a Newsday film critic who covers the film festival, is also excited for the revamp, and he credits Alan Inkles and his team for the hard work they put into making the Film Festival after such a rough two years trapped in a pandemic.
“I credit Alan Inkles for the labor of love him and his team put into making this all happen,” said Guzman.
He also says Inkles’ creative scheme is much different from other Film Festivals.
“He uses a lot of foreign films,” said Guzman. “Films that you would never see anywhere else except at the Stony Brook Film Festival. It’s a smart and creative way to get people to come out to the film festival.”
Guzman also notes that Inkles puts “one hundred percent effort” into the annual festival, “like it’s his baby.” Guzman expects that the attendance will still be big even though the pandemic put a pause on the event.
“The event so far has been a huge success,” Guzman said. “The comeback of the Film Festival goes to show how dedicated Inkles and his team to make a huge come back after such a difficult COVID-19 pandemic.”
Tneil Gooden Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences
Jessica Mongelli, a critical care nurse at Northwell Health Hospital in Lake Success, was dispatched to the front lines of the war against COVID-19 when the pandemic hit the New York area early last year.
Jessica Mongelli and other nurses at Northwell Heath Hospital in Lake Success were on the front lines during the COVID-19 crisis (Photo courtesy of Jessica Mongelli)
“We were the first team that cared for the sickest people in our tri-state area.” she said.
From working directly with COVID patients to seeing the effect COVID had on the hospital’s atmosphere, medical workers were tested in every way possible.
“Being a critical care nurse is really stressful, it requires a mindset where we have to be extremely empathetic but be brave enough to disconnect ourselves because it is the worst time of a family’s life that you are participating in,” she said. “When we were put into the pandemic it was this situation but on steroids.”
The COVID crisis caused a lot of sadness and distrust in where the world was heading.
“When I was caring for a really young patient in his 20s, I lost faith,” Mongelli said. “I felt like we couldn’t save any of these patients. I cried hysterically during a group huddle and I am usually really optimistic.”
Aside from the mental health aspect, lack of equipment was also a challenge.
“There were so many changes in the hospital due to COVID,” said Sasha McKenzie, a medical assistant at Mount Sinai Hospital in Jupiter, Florida. “If we were caring for a patient that had tuberculosis every time we would go into the patient’s room and put on a set of PPE (personal protective equipment), once we came out of the room all that would be discarded.”
She added: “Post COVID, we were literally saving everything possible, PPE’s were being used for the entire day versus a one time entrance into a patient’s room.” There was a limited amount of equipment available due to the high demand for them.
There was also a drastic change in direction in the hospital system because COVID patients became the top priority.
“All hands in every area were on deck,” said Nick Pertoso, a hospital administrator at Montefiore Medical Center in New York. “Separate COVID units were created to handle the influx of people. No surgeries were being done, only COVID. Staff were coming from other facilities just to help out.”
Dr. Andrew Wackett, far right, and some of his fellow first responders. (Courtesy of Dr. Andrew Wackett)
People were taken out of their fields and thrown into COVID scene in such a haste that COVID became the main aspect of the hospital.
Stony Brook University medical students were not immediately deployed — but they sprang into action when they got the call.
“When it first started, we actually had to suspend our medical students from their clinical rotations.” Dr. Andrew Wackett, Vice Dean of Undergraduate Medical Education said. “The reason for it was mainly because of the lack of PPE.”
This was just another obstacle to overcome.
“A lot of it came from the N95 masks, those are very special filtered masks,” Dr. Wackett added. “In the past we would use those masks for other airborne diseases, Tuberculosis is one, measles, but these diseases we don’t see all that frequently, so the amount of masks that healthcare requires for this is very limited.”
Eventually, they were able to obtain more equipment and personnel.
“When we brought [the students] back, the pandemic was still going strong so they actually still had a lot of opportunities to take care of patients also.” Wackett added.
With all of the changes that COVID has forced in both the medical field and the world in general, the question becomes whether we will return to pre-pandemic conditions.
“I do not think that normal is possible post-pandemic,” McKenzie said. “A lot of individuals are now scared and possibly paranoid.”
Unfortunately, COVID’s effects are long lasting.
While we may not be able to return to what “normal” was prior to the pandemic, some lessons were learned. The magnitude and gravity of the event are impossible to ignore. The medical community and world as a whole were faced with the unexpected. Healthcare workers’ perseverance has gotten the world back to a new normal.
“It opened up the eyes that there needs to be more interest placed in public health,” McKenzie said.
