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GearHeadz bring home two awards from California

The GearHeadz robotics team displays its national trophy at Legoland in California. Photo from Chris Pinkenburg

What started with a small group of kids in a Long Island basement ended with cheers when the Rocky Point-area GearHeadz robotics team ran down the isle at Legoland in California to collect a national trophy.

“It was the greatest feeling ever,” GearHeadz coach Chris Pinkenburg said of how well his team produced on such a grand stage, to receive a fifth-place robot game and second-place programming award. “I’m extremely proud of them. They’re a very independent, unselfish team that can figure out a lot of problems on their own.”

The team competed in the FIRST LEGO League Long Island championship tournament back in February and was crowned second-place champion. From there, it competed on the national stage against 74 teams, including regional and state champions from the United States and Canada, as well as international guests from Germany and South Korea.

Each year, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, which was founded in 1989, presents a theme under which teams solve real-world problems and build and program a robot to compete in missions.

The theme this time around was Trash Trek, so students had to present a project that could be the solution to an environmental hazard. The GearHeadz tried over 20 times and eventually came up with the right recipe for biodegradable bags that would limit the mass death of sea turtles and other marine life from accidental ingestion of plastic.

The GearHeadz’s robot base and some of its attachments used to complete missions. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The GearHeadz’s robot base and some of its attachments used to complete missions. Photo by Desirée Keegan

“We’ve worked together well as a team,” said Pinkenburg’s 14-year-old son Jade. “We’ve solved a lot of problems and succeeded on the Long Island and national stage.”

Speaking of problems, his team ran into a big one at nationals.

“The first two rounds went really, really bad,” Chris Pinkenburg said. “We got back from the second round and sat down together to try to figure out what’s wrong with our robot. It behaved very differently from previous times.”

Recently turned 14-year-old Jen Bradley discovered a bad cable, when she started wiggling it and noticed that the sensor reading was changing. Thankfully it’s only your best round that counts, and the team had spent so much time fixing its robot that it had minutes to get ready to perform for the third time.

“Everything depended on that last round,” Pinkenburg said.

The robot performed well, which earned the team fifth place.

“We have a lot of smart people here that work really hard,” 14-year-old Rex Alex said. “We put in the time and effort and we get results. It was a big stage, a new experience for me, and we had the pressure on us, but we rose to the occasion.”

Bradley and the Pinkenburg bunch had been there before but had never garnered a national award.

“We’re finally one of the best teams in the country. That’s nice,” Pinkenburg said, laughing. “Hard work does pay off. It’s a total team win.”

It was the culmination of five years of hard work while learning and striving to improve.

For 13-year-old Julius Condemi, it was interesting to meet and compete against so many different types of teams.

“It was really cool to see everyone’s methods of finishing the missions to get high scores,” he said. “The competitions are energetic and it’s busy, but it’s a lot of fun.”

The GearHeadz group even works with other teams to help, something Pinkenburg said makes the program unique.

“It’s competing against technical problems, not other teams,” he said. “The kids show gracious professionalism when helping other teams. The camaraderie is good and I can see the progress. It’s an amazing gift to watch that and to help them on their way.”

The GearHeadz are hoping to move up to a higher level of competition. Photo by Desirée Keegan
The GearHeadz are hoping to move up to a higher level of competition. Photo by Desirée Keegan

As the kids are nearing the end of the age limit to compete in the FLL, the team is working to raise a minimum of $15,000 to compete in the FIRST Robotics Challenge, in which they will design, build, program and operate 120-pound robots to compete in floor games.

To be a part of this league is why Pinkenburg first created a team. A perk to being a part of this league is that it offers scholarships.

“Boeing, Grumman, Intel, they hire you afterward,” he said. “They see it as a means to attract talent and make them known to talent.”

Clayton Mackay, also 14 years old, mainly builds attachments for the base of the robot, which could involve adding pieces that compress air or use springs, to complete the different missions. He was a friend to a lot of the teammates, like Julius and Rex, before joining the team, which he said has helped them be able to work together to be able to compete at a higher level. It also wouldn’t have been possible without their coach, who has been a huge source of knowledge.

“He’s a really nice guy who knows so much,” Mackay said. “He’s a great coach. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of this team.”

Jade has learned a lot from and about his father during the process, and Pinkenburg has seen his son mature during the process.

“It’s brought out the best in him,” he said. “The social skills, dealing with the other teams, he’s really progressed tremendously. They all learned a lot about engineering and I see the personal development as the kids grow and evolve.”

Bradley said being on the team has been the highlight of grade school.

“It’s always been a big part of my life,” she said of robotics. “It’s really incredible. I’ve learned a lot about perseverance, about teamwork. I’ve made a lot of friendships while learning a lot.”

For more information about the team or to help donate to help them reach the next stage of the competition, visit the team’s website at www.rockpointroboticsclub.com.

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Sound Beach Civic Association President Bea Ruberto presents Brianna Sander with a certificate of congratulations for being named the civic’s 2016 scholarship recipient. Photo by Desirée Keegan

Brianna Sander has a lot on her plate.

Maintaining a weighted GPA of more than 100 is hard enough, as she excels in her advanced placement classes, but the Rocky Point senior still finds time to be a part of the school’s art, math and national honor societies; is on the school’s volleyball, basketball and track and field teams; and is also a member of Athletes Helping Athletes.

“It’s busy work, but it’s not that bad,” she said, laughing.

While Sander was on her school’s website, she came across a list that her school put together, of the available scholarships in the area. She came across the $1,000 award from the Sound Beach Civic Association, in which the only requirement was that you live in Sound Beach.

Each student who applied had to submit a resume and construct an essay detailing their contributions to the school and the community, while listing the various activities and organizations they’ve been a part of, and detail how they’ve helped both the student and the surrounding area.

Sound Beach Civic President Bea Ruberto said 12 students applied for the scholarship.

“We had some really great kids,” she said of this year’s submissions. “First, we look at their grades, and then we look at their community service and the kind of work experience they have.”

Ruberto said that from the original submissions, the civic members narrowed the candidates down to four, who were all in terrific academic standing.

Sander was then chosen to be the most deserving of the four.

“She was very impressive right away,” Ruberto said of Sander. “From everything I’ve read, she’s just really involved. The couple of the things I mentioned are just a few of the activities she participates in. And she’s ranked right up there in her class.”

The civic also received letters of recommendation from the student’s teachers. Ruberto said one teacher described Sander as “the embodiment of determination and professionalism that is rarely seen in someone so young. Whether she is preparing for a political science exam or helping to sell pink ribbons for a breast cancer fundraiser, Brianna can be counted on to go above and beyond.”

Through the Math and National Honor Society, Sander also provides tutoring. She was one of the driving forces of the Dig Pink volleyball breast cancer fundraiser, which Sander said is one of the No. 1 fundraisers in Suffolk County for breast cancer awareness, in which her team performs a big game while collecting donations.

“All of the organizations and sports I’m involved in do major fundraisers,” she said. “I’m always busy; always around the school fundraising.”

Sander said she was surprised when Ruberto called her to inform her she won the scholarship.

“I didn’t recognize the number, so I was so excited and surprised when I found out what the call was for,” said Sander, who will be attending Binghamton University in the fall and majoring in biological sciences. “It’s a lot of money, $1,000 will help a lot. It’s big. I was really glad and thankful.”

Ruberto is more thankful to have a student like Sander leaving such a positive impact on such a small hamlet like Sound Beach.

“This year we got some really impressive applications — Brianna stood out as a well-rounded student-athlete,” Ruberto said. “We are proud to have her in our community.”

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The Three Village school district discusses its scientific success. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

In what has become a tradition, the Three Village Board of Education celebrated the success of its three Science Olympiad teams at the regional, state and national competitions.

While some might point to the junior high and high school teams’ dominance as proof of the district’s commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, a presentation at the board’s recent meeting outlining the district’s inaugural year of the elementary STEM program could seal the deal.

The two junior high schools, P.J. Gelinas and R.C. Murphy, placed first and second, respectively, in the regional Science Olympiad competition. Gelinas went on to become New York State champions and finished 10th at the national competition. Ward Melville finished first in the Eastern Long Island regionals, second in New York State and is ranked 24th in the country. The Ward Melville team also won a first-place medal in Experimental Design and one for fifth place for Write It/Do It.

The recognition served as the ideal introduction to the evening’s report about the new STEM education program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The Three Village school district discusses its scientific success. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy
The Three Village school district discusses its scientific success. Photo by Andrea Moore Paldy

STEM at Three Village introduces elementary school children to computer science and gives them the opportunity to apply engineering and design challenges to real-world issues. Colleen Maier, STEM teacher at Nassakeag Elementary School, said that while units of study vary, all grades are exposed to coding through Code.org, a nonprofit organization that offers a free web-based curriculum. 

Gretchen Tranchino, STEM teacher at W.S. Mount, said the first step for all grades is learning about algorithms — a list of steps to complete a task. While older students followed algorithms for making paper airplanes, younger children used them to plant seeds. Eventually, the process of writing algorithms was translated to writing code on computers, she said.   

The focus varies by grade level after the initial introduction to coding, Maier said. For example, students in kindergarten through second grade focus on the “living environment,” learning about vertical growing towers, which don’t need soil and can grow year-round indoors.

While working on the projects, students learn about greenhouses, plant needs and also learn the differences between geoponics — growing plants in soil — and aeroponics — growing plants in the air, said Brianna Rovegno, who teaches STEM at Arrowhead Elementary School.   

Second-graders designed the water sources for their towers and got inspiration from plants and animals, while also considering materials and time constraints, Rovegno said. Some harvests included lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and peppers. 

Rovegno said that in order to reinforce early coding concepts, third- and fourth-grade students transition from writing code on paper to programming small robots, called Ozobots. This helps students develop logical reasoning and teaches them to embrace failure, Rovegno said, adding that writing code, working to debug a program and find errors within the code aid students in becoming more perseverant. 

“They really had to stick with it,” Tranchino said. “We felt that this was a skill that was easily transferrable and really important in their educational journey.”

Though there were a variety of design challenges for fifth- and sixth-graders — they learned about computer-aided design with the application Tinkercad — all of the students had the opportunity to see their designs realized with a 3-D printer. With each lesson, said Sean Dowling, Minnesauke Elementary School’s STEM teacher, teachers presented the children with a real-world application.

Students designing shells for hermit crabs learned about the shortage of hermit crab shells in Bermuda and had to incorporate the measurements of actual hermit crabs in their design. Other students designed rectangular prism sculptures following mathematical guidelines that reinforced math concepts related to the volume of prisms. Meanwhile, another group of students designed organ transport containers that applied their knowledge of the transport of thermal energy in order to preserve ice.

Moving forward, the five STEM teachers who have been working and collaborating with the general education teachers, will continue to develop the curriculum. They will continue to review, revise and enhance the program over the summer.

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The high school football fields may be replaced with turf and capital improvements. File photo

The Northport board of education voted to move forward with improvements to science, athletic, and structural parts of the district Thursday night.

Superintendent Robert Banzer said the major goals of the capital improvements were to replace aging infrastructure and provide students and the community with more useful physical education and athletic facilities.

Infrastructure improvements included replacing bathrooms, windows, and ceilings in classrooms from kindergarten through high school. At the presentation last Thursday night, Banzer went through several photos showing cracked countertops, and antiquated lavatories.

“Some of our buildings are very old and we need to take a cold, hard look at them,” he said.

Tony Resca, a member of the capital projects committee, said the district needed to create state-of-the-art science labs, which would “foster inquiry-based scientific experimentation” and “strengthen overall STEM learning outcomes.”

Changes would include new desks designed to form into lab stations as well as new fume hoods and cabinetry for lab chemicals.

“These lab benches and work desks … are modular, they are moveable and flexible and they can be moved at a moment’s notice to accommodate a wide variety of science-related activities,” Resca said.

Talks for improving the athletic facilities at Northport have been underway for more than a year and projects included better irrigation systems for athletic fields, a new stadium at the high school with a turf field, a new track, a concession stand, outdoor bathrooms, and a replacement of tennis courts.

Paul Klimuszko, director of physical education, athletics and health, and a member of the committee, talked about the importance of replacing certain fields at Northport and improving irrigation at others.

“Whether it rains during the game or days before, this is what the field typically ends up looking like during a game,” Klimuszko said as he pointed to a photo of the high school football team playing in a field covered in mud. He also said that field was heavily used, which diminished its quality and made it less accessible to the greater Northport community.

“Even when the team is out for half-time, the marching band is putting on a half-time show, so that field never gets a break,” he said.

Under Banzer’s suggestion, the district will now seek prices and plans from an architect to achieve the plans listed in capital projects that were voted for in the May budget.

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The lunch buddies pictured (from left) are Matthew Elvington, Jenna Wade, Mia Cepeda, Hailey Petruzzi and Jackson Edwards-Remy, accepting their awards Monday at a school board meeting. Teachers (from left) Sanchez, Kathleen Masone and Rhiannon Rizzo and Rella were present to thank the students for their kindness. Students Frank Corona, Albiezy Delgado and Emelin Torres Peralta were not at the meeting but also participated in the program, school officials said. Photo by Alex Petroski

Students from Terryville Road Elementary School in the Comsewogue School District were honored at a board of education meeting Monday night for their participation in the school’s Lunch Buddy Program, which pairs special education students with students from other classrooms to have lunch once a week.

“The lunch buddies’ program is based off a research-based program called peer-to-peer, where students from a special education classroom and a general education classroom meet together … to have lunch and practice their social skills,” teacher Kylynn Sanchez said. “Also they can make connections in a more natural setting. The hope is that they’re able to go off on the playground and continue those connections.”

Terryville Principal April Victor said in an email Tuesday she is proud of all the students involved.

“Throughout the year this amazing group of students have exemplified kindness and understanding of individual differences,” she said.

Superintendent Joe Rella echoed Victor’s sentiments Monday: “I think one of the hallmarks of this community is being concerned about other people, not just being concerned about yourself.”

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Timothy Eagen, superintendent; Kameron Sedigh; Julian Ubriaco; and Lino Bracco, Kings Park High School Principal. Photo from Kings Park school district

They’re at the top of the class.

Kings Park High School officials congratulated the class of 2016 valedictorian Julian Ubriaco and salutatorian, Kameron Sedigh this week for their outstanding efforts.

Kameron Sedigh photo from Kings Park school district
Kameron Sedigh photo from Kings Park school district

Ubriaco will be graduating with a cumulative weighted average of 108.14. He serves as senior class president, Model United Nations president, and captain of the math and trivia teams, as well as vice president of National Honor Society.

Outside of the classroom, Ubriaco is captain of the boys’ tennis team and enjoys volunteering at events such as Relay for Life, the Veterans Day breakfast and the high school blood drive. Ubriaco has spent the last two summers volunteering at Cold Spring Harbor Labs, where he investigates new means of detecting and treating pancreatic cancer.

For his work in the classroom, community and laboratory, Ubriaco has been recognized as a Siemens regional finalist, Intel semifinalist, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium finalist, International Science and Engineering Fair finalist, Coca-Cola Scholar, National Merit scholar and U.S. Senate Youth Program alternate. He will attend Harvard University next year, where he plans to major in applied mathematics.

Sedigh will be graduating with a cumulative weighted average of 105.49. He serves as president of the Independent Science Research Program and Science Olympiad Club, as well as vice president of the senior class, the Quiz Bowl team, and Students Against Destructive Decisions club.

Julian Ubriaco photo from Kings Park school district
Julian Ubriaco photo from Kings Park school district

He is a three-season varsity athlete as a member of the varsity soccer, track and field, and tennis teams.

Additionally, Sedigh is heavily involved in the music department. He is the Tri-M Honor Society treasurer and plays trombone in the Symphonic Winds, and jazz and marching bands. For the past year, Sedigh has conducted research under Dr. Tonge at Stony Brook University, studying novel antibacterial targets of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.

For his work in the classroom, in the community, in the laboratory, and on the playing field, Sedigh has been recognized as a Coca-Cola scholar, Simons fellow, Siemens regional finalist, Intel STS semifinalist, Maroon and White K recipient, Long Island Young scholar of mathematics, and second place winner in biochemistry at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Sedigh will be attending Duke University as a Robertson scholar, majoring in biomedical engineering.

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By L. Reuven Pasternak, M.D.

At Stony Brook University Hospital, we’ve created a culture of excellence based on health care tailored to meet each individual’s needs and preferences. We want to ensure that our neighbors, friends and families on Long Island who come to us feel comforted, respected and confident about the care they receive from Stony Brook.

Our dedication to providing quality care has earned recognition from numerous organizations in the medical community. Many departments have been recognized by their specialty associations for meeting standards that directly benefit patients:

•Our Endoscopy Unit was recognized for endoscopic quality and safety by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

•Our Stroke Program was awarded the highest recognition possible for quality care by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines program.

•Our Trauma Center has been ranked in the top decile in the nation for specific outcome measures.

•Stony Brook’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory was awarded a bronze-level Beacon Award for Excellence and our Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit earned a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence, both from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.

•Our Pediatric Nephrology Program has achieved a ranking within the Top 50 Best Children’s Hospitals from U.S. News and World Report.

Our dedication to providing quality care has earned recognition from numerous organizations in the medical community.

•The prestigious Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award was presented to our Ambulatory Surgery Center in recognition of its high level of patient satisfaction.

•We have been named a top performer in a New York State Department of Health project to improve nutrition for preterm babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

•The New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative has recognized our performance in reducing elective early-term deliveries by 75 percent, to lower the risk of serious health problems and death for newborns.

And the New York State Department of Health has given us leadership positions in important health care initiatives:

•We received a planning grant to serve as the leader in building a regionalized health care system throughout Suffolk County through the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program.

•Stony Brook is spearheading a SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) program, which will screen and provide early intervention and treatment for people with substance use disorders.

Quality of care and patient safety are and always will be our top priorities. We’re proud of the recognition Stony Brook University Hospital has won, but the real winners, of course, are our patients and the community.

L. Reuven Pasternak, M.D. is the CEO of  Stony Brook University Hospital and the vice president for Health Systems at Stony Brook Medicine.

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The science, technology, engineering and math program, in which students work with Stony Brook University professors to further their education, will return to the district. File photo

Students in the Mount Sinai and Port Jefferson school districts will keep taking their talents to the next level.

Thanks to state Sen. Ken LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) securing more funding, the joint science, technology, engineering and math program will be staying around for another year.

LaValle got $25,000 for each district to continue its partnership with professors at Stony Brook University to further the students’ learning and better prepare them for the future.

“I think the world today and the jobs today are in the STEM areas,” he said. “So we want to make sure that they have a good running start so that they can, when they apply to college, have an easy transition.”

Port Jefferson superintendent, Ken Bossert, said he’s happy the senator has been a strong supporter of the program, and said that so far the partnership with the schools has gone seamlessly.

“I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for our students,” he said. “The program has been extremely well received and well attended. There’s been a good deal of collaboration and a good deal of learning is taking place. It’s given by Stony Brook professors and they use equipment in the labs and are exposed to higher levels of learning that we can’t replicate on the high school level.”

The Mount Sinai superintendent, Gordon Brosdal, said after meeting with the senator to discuss the future of the program, he found out that his district and Bossert’s would be able to receive the same amount of funding they’ve received the last three years, to be able to maintain it.

“I would like to praise Sen. LaValle for being on the ground floor of this program, encouraging and supporting those partnerships like the Mount Sinai-Port Jeff STEM project,” he said. “We’ll keep up the partnership. It’s very positive and he is very supportive.”

LaValle said he likes the enthusiasm for the program in both school districts.

“There’s interest — that’s why we’re going to continue it,” he said. “It’s popular with the administrators and, most importantly, with the students and their parents.”

Bossert appreciates the senator’s support.

“Without the grant money that Sen. LaValle has made available for us, we would’ve had a difficult time initiating any program like this,” he said. “I think it’s something that has gone very, very well and has the opportunity for even further growth, so I’m hoping that the positive trajectory continues.”

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Superintendent James Grossane file photo

Smithtown high school students may soon be collectively rejoicing everywhere.

A committee assembled in 2015 to examine the pros and cons of moving back the start of the school day for ninth-  through 12th-grade students provided an update to the board of education, district administration and the community on their findings at a meeting Tuesday.

The School Start Times Steering Committee is comprised of district administrators, parents, students and teachers. District Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Jennifer Bradshaw led the discussion Tuesday. Bradshaw said the committee watched a New York State School Boards Association webinar about the Glen Falls City School District’s shift to a later start time a few years ago and the drastically positive impacts it has had on student behavior. They also consulted with the district’s athletic director, guidance counselors, parents and principals from other schools who have made the change for their input on the impact of a later start time.

“We have an obligation to look at this for our students,” Bradshaw said. Currently Smithtown’s high schools start first period at 7:20 a.m. “Physiologically, biologically they’re not ready to learn.”

Bradshaw quoted a recent press release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that indicated two out of three high school students in the United States don’t get enough sleep.

Joanne Romanelli, a parent in the district who is on the start time committee and also works as a certified holistic health and wellness coach addressed the board during Tuesday’s meeting. She said that forcing teens to wake up as early as 6 a.m. creates a vicious cycle of stress, out-of-whack hormones and distorted sleeping patterns because their bodies cannot physically fall asleep before about 11:30 p.m.

“If you’re getting up earlier you’re feeling stress, you’re feeling tired, you’re not doing so well in school, you might be depressed or you have low serotonin,” Romanelli said. “There is more depression so now you’re feeling more stress. You’re having raised cortisol throughout the day. Raised cortisol makes you feel energized, it doesn’t make you feel sleepy. So now, you can’t go to sleep. So it causes more stress. It just cycles … A later start time is what’s best and it’s healthier for the students.”

School board members Louis Liguori and Joanne McEnroy said they’d like to see these updates fast-tracked from suggestions to a proposal and eventually a change because they’ve seen firsthand how difficult getting their teenagers out of bed really is.

“We pretty much have covered the gamut on all levels of educating children right down to nutritional changes that we have going on and [on a county and state level they’re] just not talking about, on a higher level, sleep deprivation or sleep patterns of our students,” Liguori said. “Who are we catering to? We’re not catering to the students at all by getting them up at 6 [a.m.].”

Some issues with pushing back the start of the high school day would include transportation, co-curricular athletics start times and changes to before and after care for elementary students if their times were affected.

Board member Jeremy Thode expressed concerns that if the high school day started later, kids would simply go to bed later and the problem would be shifted backward rather than alleviated.

“My concern as a parent and from an educational point of view is that we have some fool’s gold here in thinking they’re going to stay going to bed at 11 [p.m.] and now waking up at 9 [a.m.] or get up at 8 [a.m.], now they can stay up until 12 [a.m.], because kids are kids,” Thode said. “In an ideal world I think we’re talking about the right subject but there are some unintended consequences.”

Thode suggested that a next step could be to examine lateness patterns and grades for first and second period classes compared to the rest of the day for Smithtown high school students.

Bradshaw added she has been in contact with an organization called Start School Later Long Island, NY and that the best course of action may be for this to become a county or statewide discussion going forward. More discussion is likely to occur until the budget is adopted for the 2017-18 school year next spring.

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A scene from Friday’s Stony Brook University commencement ceremony at LaValle Stadium. Photo by Greg Catalano
Students graduating from Stony Brook University this year decorated their caps. Photo by Greg Catalano
Students graduating from Stony Brook University this year decorated their caps. Photo by Greg Catalano

Thousands of degrees were doled out on Friday as Stony Brook University said congratulations to the Seawolves’ class of 2016.

A total of 6,570 graduates made their final march into their futures at LaValle Stadium, marking the university’s 56th commencement ceremony, on May 20. University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. also conferred honorary degrees onto Eric H. Holder Jr., the 82nd attorney general of the United States, and Soledad O’Brien, an American broadcast journalist.

The university granted honorary degrees to Eric Holder and Soledad O’Brien (pictured with SBU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.). Photo by Greg Catalano
The university granted honorary degrees to Eric Holder and Soledad O’Brien (pictured with SBU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.). Photo by Greg Catalano

“This is a remarkable distinction for the class of 2016, to be joined by individuals who personify what Stony Brook embraces — the relentless pursuit of excellence and commitment to make a real difference,” Stanley said. “Eric Holder embodies the progress and values of our country through his strong leadership and legacy of justice and fortitude. Soledad O’Brien exemplifies the vision of our university as she is actively engaged in the critical issues of our time — initiating and exploring important national conversations.”

Graduates represented 41 states and 67 countries, and students ranged in age from 20 to 73 years old.

Students and their families packed out the stadium on Friday as the sun shone on them. Various elected officials and university administrators were also in attendance.

A scene from Friday’s Stony Brook University commencement ceremony at LaValle Stadium. Photo by Greg Catalano
A scene from Friday’s Stony Brook University commencement ceremony at LaValle Stadium. Photo by Greg Catalano
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