Category: Blog 2026

My first day at the Stony Brook Greene journalism program was odd. When I first entered my room, I was taken by surprise to feel a great sense of relief and comfort. I came expecting to feel extremely homesick and overwhelmed. But as soon as my father left, I felt free and excited. I quickly made my bed and unpacked my items. It gave me a grasp of getting dropped off to college on a real note. Soon upon arrival I met my roommate. We chatted a ton when we first met during reception, so it was lovely seeing a familiar face. We quickly kicked it off again! We then went to go meet the others in the lounge room, everyone was quiet and seatings were awkward but the excitement didn’t fade. We traveled to the newsroom and soon after we went to dinner. Dinner was fine. That was when we all began to chat and get to know each other better. The girls were so sweet and open to conversation, which was lovely because i came in eager to socialize and meet new people. The day ended quickly. After dinner we came back to the dorms and socialized more in the main lounge. I played Uno with May and Yasmine, my roommates. I ended my social night with ping pong with some of the guys and around 10 o’clock, I returned back to my dorm to wind down.

Overall, my day was adventurous and new. I’m excited to wake up tomorrow morning and began new adventures with the kind people whom are joining me along this program.

– Angie Larrea, Hempstead High School

Today marks my first day at the Greene Institute journalism camp! The first thing I noticed when I arrived was an overwhelming feeling of independence. Being in a new environment and having the opportunity to learn and work on my own made the experience feel different, but in a good way.

On our first day, we got an overview of what we will be doing throughout the camp and what we can expect during the week. I was especially excited to learn that we will have photo and video classes because those are two things I genuinely enjoy.

One thing I learned today is that journalism can take many different forms. It is not just writing articles or reporting the news. It can also be photography, video, interviews, and storytelling.

Even though I did not do anything too crazy on my first day, I still left feeling accomplished and hopeful about the week ahead. I am excited to see what I will learn and create throughout this experience.

-Myles Darby, Baldwin High School

During my first day at the Robert W. Greene Institute for High School Journalists, I was able to experience my first day of living in Stony Brook’s Hendrix Hall. I saw familiar faces, and met new ones. I was also granted the opportunity to learn history about blogging and how to start doing so on my own.

I have had an interest in blogging for a while now, so this lesson helped me develop a deeper interest in sharing my thoughts and experiences. I look forward to chronicling my experience here at Stony Brook’s campus throughout this week.

– Yasmin Bardales, Hempstead High School

To say that I was nervous to attend The Robert W. Greene Summer Insititute would be an understatement. I remember just a few hours ago, in my mom’s Honda car, heading to Stony Brook; I felt like my heart was going to beat its way out of my chest. I had barely thought about it for months, that I was going to be focusing on my future career for a whole week, and continue writing articles or making blogs. And now, I’m comfortable in my bed at my dorm, feeling more confident than ever. On the first day of this Institute, after we got ourselves situated in our dorms, we headed off to attend a meeting about housing; and what should be expected of all of us during this week. I listened closely to what the teachers were saying, and throughout the entire week of exciting work I’m going to do. I’m mostly excited about the Ducks game on Tuesday evening! I have never been to a Ducks game before, but I had always heard about it. The thought of attending my first ever baseball game, even if it’s going to be pouring that day, excites me. After the meeting, we headed off to the campus library, where we entered a room with many computers. It was easy to navigate through the process of learning how to write a blog on a platform like this, especially since the teachers were showing us step by step how to. After the short lesson on how to do our assignment, the Stony Brook campus’ bell struck — it was already 5 pm. After the bell rang, we headed off to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was huge, with many food options. After waiting in a line for just a few minutes, I finally got to the many options of food. After I picked the food I wanted, I sat down near my dorm mate, and I ate pulled pork, half of a cheeseburger, and broccoli; and I drank it all down with a cup of Coca-Cola with ice. The meal was good, better than I expected. But what I really enjoyed about our time in the cafeteria, was getting to know the other girls, and my dorm mate, who all shared where they were from. And now, I’m lying in my comfortable bed, writing this blog after taking a relaxing shower. I couldn’t have asked for a more calming day, and hopefully tomorrow will be as calming, or exciting, as today was.

• Heily Sandoval, Northport High School

On July 26, 2026, I moved into to Stonybrook for the Robert W. Greene journalism program. The drive was smooth and calming, as I looked out the window admiring the leaves falling off the tree, the cars that drove by, and the music playing in my ears. I arrived to my room and settled in quickly, and I headed down to the lounge and got to meet the other students that I would be spending a week with and have an understanding of the activities we would be partaking in. After the meeting, we met in the computer room and got familiar with the technology around us. Later the afternoon, we headed to the cafeteria and enjoyed various fruits, vegetables, and other delicious foods. For dinner, I had a fresh ham and cheese sandwich and hummus. Afterwards, I headed to the lounge, where I got to meet and get to know the other members of the Greene Team! I am so excited for this week ahead!

• Isabella Davis, Sacred Heart Academy

Today was my second day at the Greene Gazette journalism camp, and it was definitely one of my favorite days so far. We got the chance to use the Canon R7, which is my dream camera and the one I’m currently saving up for to use on projects throughout the upcoming school year.

We spent the day taking photos and shooting B-roll, and it was an awesome hands-on experience. Using the camera in a real setting taught me a lot and helped me grow as both a photographer and videographer. It also made me even more motivated to keep saving for it.

I’m also really excited for tomorrow because we’re going to a Long Island Ducks game. I can’t wait to take sports photos and hopefully shoot some videos too. I’m looking forward to another day of learning and improving my skills behind the camera.

— Myles Darby, Baldwin High School

My second day at this institute was a lot more thrilling than my first, since the only hard part about my day was waking up at around 6:30 a.m., to go get breakfast at 8 a.m. Other than that, we stayed in the Stony Brook newsroom, where we had many guest speakers who were eager to share their history and experience with us.

I’ve learned many interesting things throughout these lessons, like how to operate a high functioning camera, how to make a good lede, listening to other’s stories, and some podcast/interview ideas to do during this week. My breakfast, lunch, and dinner were also pretty good; I ate up scrambled eggs with hash browns in the morning, mashed potatoes with fries and chicken, and finally some fries with a turkey sandwich. My second day at this institute was pretty interesting, since I got to see what the rest of my week would look like, or be similar to; and I got to learn a lot of valuable things I’ll need to use for my journalism career in the future.

— Heily Sandoval, Northport High School

Today, our group sat in the newsroom for a few hours to listen to experienced journalists of many media genres talk to us about themselves and the basics of their own field.

Dini Diskin-Zimmerman described her personal experiences with journalism and reporting in the late 20th to early 21st century, having been through the Watergate scandal and other national events. Other professionals such as George Giokas, JD Allen, and others spoke on podcasts, audio journalism, interviewing tactics, and photo/videography.

We also got sorted into our teams for our report projects that we’ll be working on for the duration of the program. Tomorrow’s going to be a lot of more hands-on work, such as interviewing, reporting, and researching.

— Haru Dukanac, Eastchester High School

The Greene Team received a pep talk from walking history! Dini Diskin-Zimmerman was one of the first women to work in the media. She was the most notable speaker, and discussed her life as a journalist over the past few decades, and how technology has developed. I even got to ask her about what it was like during the Watergate incident and what it was like reporting on a major historical event. Also, it was beautiful hearing a woman discuss her success story.

We were split into teams and taught about news deserts, podcasting, how to use a camera, how to utilize b-roll — all multimedia topics by various experienced instructors. Eventually, we went outside on the pretty campus and took photos with our groups. I get along pretty easily with them. We were all very joyous to have this experience.

The Greene Team learned a lot today through true experience and admirable figures in the field. I’m excited for the next few days with more activities!

— Kayci Guardado, Central Islip High School

From broadcasting to podcasting, today was an exciting experience where I had to chance to learn and understand different perspectives. The day started early, we headed down to the cafeteria at 8:15, where I had waffles and fruit for breakfast. We headed to the newsroom, where we met with brodcaster Dini Diskin-Zimmerman, who told us her experiences as being among the first women anchors, which was such a motivating story to hear. After, we met with J.D. Allen, who worked in podcasting, and ran the Higher Ground podcast. He explained environmental journalism, and how important podcasts are when sharing stories.

Along with podcasting, Frank Posillico and Rick Ricioppo taught us how to use the cameras and how to film. I never used a camera, so learning how to film was such a cool thing to learn. I learned how to use the camera quickly, and it was definitely my favorite part of the day.

— Isabella Davis, Sacred Heart Academy

Photo taken by Isabella Davis