The Brooker | Volume 1 Issue 6 | April 2024

Volume 1, Issue 6

The Brooker

May 6, 2024

Words of Wisdom

Seniors reflect on their time at SBS

By Lucy Tillotson

The 2023-2024 school year is slowly coming to an end. It’s not always the calmest time of year for many students, with final exams and projects, as well as college decisions and goodbyes. The Brooker was able to talk with a few of the graduating seniors and hear what they have to say about ending this chapter of their lives and how SBS has been an important part of their journey. Some seniors have been here since 7th grade. Others have only been here for a year or two. No matter how long they’ve been part of SBS, all have made unforgettable memories that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. Evelyn Apazidis and Erick Beausoleil agreed that the Driven Retreat is one of the best highlights and experiences at SBS. Evelyn encourages all students to try to go if they can. As well as the Driven Retreat, some seniors agreed that the mini-courses are an amazing opportunity to learn something new and have a great time. Even though retreats and interesting mini-courses are a lot of fun, it’s the simple moments matter a lot to the seniors. One of Salome King’s favorite memories is getting coffee from Druthers on a beautiful day and sitting on the benches outside of Simons chatting with her friends. I think all the seniors can agree that spending time with friends, family, and faculty is what really makes a memorable senior year. Some of Gabriella Sun’s favorite memories are playing with the faculty kids on Hollis Patio and having latenight chats with her dorm moms. The small moments count. So does this wonderful community. The seniors at SBS have learned a lot of tips and tricks over the past few years. What to do, what to see, where to go. A few seniors have shared some tips they wished they’d known earlier and were happy to share them with us. Christine Li has learned that there is time for everything. It’s important to prioritize all aspects

of your life. It’s OK to focus more on something that your heart desires. It’s OK to be fluid. Also, stay mindful of time and how it flies. Seoyoung Shin believes that we all need to take a moment to stop and look around. Look around at this beautiful campus that you are a part of. The cherry blossoms bloomed recently, and Seoyoung believes that this time of year with the beautiful flowers and blossoms is one to remember and cherish. It may seem that all you can focus on right now is your academics and what courses you will take next year. But most seniors can agree that we should all savor our time here. GPAs are not all our life should be. Finishing strong in your academics is fabulous, but try to leave SBS with special memories. The seniors want all of us to know that these moments are meaningful, and we will speak of these times for the rest of our lives.

Now listen up juniors! The seniors have shared some advice that they believe will be huge pointers to get you all through senior year. It will be a very busy year, as you all have heard, and it’s likely you will all be stressed out at some point. The seniors have put together their ideas and we’ve created a four-point list that we believe will be helpful for your final year here. Even if you are in 7th grade now, these tips will be helpful to remember. It may not seem like it now, but senior year is inching closer and closer for all of you.

1. Getting into the best and most prestigious college is not the meaning of success. You are important for who you are, and you need to take care of yourself. Be true to yourself, and take the classes you want to take, not the ones you think will help you get into an Ivy League institution. Consider how you will enjoy your senior year. You will never remember what grades you got in high school, but instead, you will remember the memories you made with your friends and facul-

What are you doing over the summer?

“Work my first job at Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor”

Andrew Dehler

“Go back to Korea and stay with my family”

Rachel Hwang

“Go on a cross-country trip”

Ashe Davey

“SAT Prep :( ” Sabrina Hughes

“I’m going to kidnap one of my friends and take them to Portugal”

Brandao

The Class of ‘24 poses for College Merch Day

Photo: Media Team

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ty. (shoutout to Olivia Kim and Gabriella Sun!)

2. Try to plan out your courses and schedules wisely. Senior year is a lot of work and pressure, so try to stay healthy as much as you can. But most importantly, enjoy your last ride at SBS! Don’t just stay in your room studying or doing as much work as you can. Explore and experience the International Festival and go and cheer for our SBS bears at sports games! We all have dreams for high school and activities we want to check off our bucket lists. Senior year is the time to fulfill your high school dreams. (shoutout to Seoyoung Shin!)

3. The process of applying to colleges is difficult. The waiting to hear back is agonizing. If you don’t end up getting into the college of your choice, it will feel utterly disappointing. But try not to have the mindset of getting into your one “dream school”. We have no idea what school is best for us until we have the experience of it. God has a plan for every single one of us, and not getting into your “dream school” may seem like the world is crumbling at your feet, but it will all work out in the end. Don’t make senior year only about getting into the best college. Savor it! You only experience the senior year of high school once in your life. Wherever you go for college, be excited because you are starting a new chapter in your life! If you love your college after a year, the ranking won't matter. The people and the community will. (shoutout

to Salome King and Evelyn Apazidis!)

4. Try to manage your time the best you can. Plan out your days ahead and take things one day at a time. The college application process is quite challenging, so try to finish your applications and statements as early as you can. Once all the college applications are done, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your last year of high school. (shoutout to Jayson Amin and Gavin Hudson!)

The end of the year is less than a month away. Make the most out of your remaining experience here, and know that the SBS students and faculty are right by your side. As the seniors say goodbye, they want you to use this time to make memories that will last a lifetime. And make sure you have a blast while making them!

The BrookX Rocketry Team pursues new heights

By Joshua Kim

Dr. Liu, a new STEM teacher at The Stony Brook School, and Roger Zhou, a co-captain and Chief Engineering Officer of the BrookX Rocketry Team, stand outside of Hollis. It’s Saturday, and it’s quiet; most students are either home or in their dorms. “Okay, okay,” says Dr. Liu as he signals to the members of the team to begin to unload the materials from the cart which they used to bring over the materials from the STEM lab. Led by junior Sebastian Guadalupe-Peña, they quickly set up the stand for the rocket and load it on before clearing the area.

Dr. Liu begins counting down: “Three, two, one…” He presses the launch button. Nothing happens. The team members look unfazed, even bored; they’re used to this. They circle around and tinker with some of the machinery. “Three, two, one…” Nothing again. “Okay, if nothing happens again, we will go back to the lab,” announces Dr. Liu. One final adjustment, one final countdown. “Three, two, one…” Whoosh! The rocket is off!

Since September of last year, the sound and sight of rockets being shot off on campus have caught the attention of students at the Stony Brook School. But where did those rockets come from? Last September, Dr. Liu, along with interested students in the pre-existing Robotics Team and Engineering, Innovation, and Design (EID) class, started the rocketry team, recently rebranded as the BrookX Rocketry Team.

Before coming to SBS, Dr. Liu had been a teacher at Western High School in Davie, Florida, where he founded the “Imagine the Impossible” STEM Academy, which included not only Rocketry and Robotics teams, but also Solar Car Challenge and Biotech research programs. Bringing that expertise in STEM education to SBS, he hoped to help meet student interest in STEM programs here.

For the students involved, being part of the team has been in measures exciting and exhausting. Because the team is not recognized as an official club or sport (although they will be available as a sports credit beginning next spring,) members regularly found themselves working after dinner or having to negotiate with their coaches to attend events with the rocketry team. In addition, over the course of the year, the ten-member team has traveled over one thousand miles, often traveling from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on their weekends to test their rockets in Connecticut or upstate.

BrookX’s hard work and long hours paid off on April 17, when they found out that they had landed themselves among the top hundred rocketry teams in the nation, the only one at Long Island and one of seven in New York, gaining them a spot at the Finals for the American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) on May 18 in Washington D.C., the goal they had been aiming toward the entire school year.

For the “American Rocketry Challenge,” a program sponsored by the likes of NASA, the Department of Defense, and aerospace companies like RTX and BAE, the team had to design a rocket that would fly for exactly 43 to 46 seconds, hit 820 feet high, and come back down in one piece, all while carrying a raw egg. When they go to the finals in Washington, they will be doing the same thing with two different altitudes: 850 and 800 feet.

Captain David Zhang described the year as “bumpy” and expressed frustration about some of the stagnation the team had experienced in recent months as well as the big time commitment being part of the team required, though he was overall happy with being part of the team, saying that he got to “feel involved in his passion” and develop his “leadership skills,” as well as being excited to head to D.C. for the finals.

“Rocketry is a wonderful application of phys-

ics, math, even chemistry,” said Dr. Liu. “A lot of the math and science [you] learn in class can be applied to rocketry design. Rocketry is a platform that allows you to see the real-world application beyond learning a ton of equations and basic facts. Now you have to put everything together, make things work.”

Going forward, Dr. Liu expressed hopes of landing within the top 25 teams in the nation, which would qualify BrookX for the Student Launch Challenge (SLC), where they would design, build high-powered rockets and compete with other high school and university teams at the NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In addition, he hoped to make the team more diverse and inclusive, particularly in regards to gender and ethnicity, where there is still, as in many STEM programs, an underrepresentation of different groups. In particular, he stated that he hoped that there would also be an all-female rocketry team in the future.

For students interested in rocketry, Dr. Liu recommended joining the “Engineering, Innovation, and Design” class next year, where students will work with returning rocketry members to hopefully begin launching rockets by September to prepare for next year’s competition.

Over the course of the year, the team developed the motto “Assertiveness, Resilience, Collaboration”

Photo provided by BrookX Rocketry Team

Departing Faculty:

By Haoming (Mike) Jia

Erol Altug

Time at SBS: 23 years

Going to: Tennessee (Retired)

Michelle Altug

Time at SBS: 23 years

Going to: Tennessee (Retired)

Erik Johnson

Time at SBS: 24 years

Going to: Tennessee (McCallie School)

Melinda Johnson

Time at SBS: 24 years

What classes have you taught?

AP Biology, Senior Bible (now Faith and Culture), Biology, Honors Biology, AP Environmental Science, and AP Psychology.

Director of Library Services, Learning Services, and Dorm Mom for Barnhouse, Johnston, Cleveland

Our exceptional faculty members and teachers are one of the main reasons why SBS is such an incredible school. Unfortunately, people come and go. As we wrap up the 2023-2024 school year, we would like to honor and thank the wonderful departing faculty members who have contributed so much to SBS throughout their time here.

Favorite memories from SBS? Any wisdom to share with us?

• Teaching talented students from around the world

• Working with wonderful colleagues

• Working where my wife worked and where my daughter attended school

• Taking students to Iceland and the Galapagos Islands

• Running the scoreboard and clock for basketball games (and having the best seat)

• Praying with girls in dorms

• Getting up at 3 am to drive to Cortland, NY for the girls’ state soccer championship game which SBS won

• It is important that everyone decide, “Who was (or is) Jesus of Nazareth?”

• Jesus taught us to live by the Golden Rule saying that we should treat other people the way that we want to be treated. Live that way and life will be indeed better for you and for those you encounter.

• Be a lifelong learner. Never stop pursuing and acquiring skills, knowledge, and wisdom.

“As a librarian, I encourage students to be lifelong learners. Keep reading, keep making new friends, keep visiting new countries, and by doing so keep creating new synapses in your brain. Most importantly, learn to love the Lord your Heavenly Father with all your heart, mind, and soul.”

Co-Director of College Counseling, English Chair, AP English Literature, English 10, English 11, Humanities 10, Ethics and Politics, and AP US History

Ceramics, Studio Art, and AP Art

Going to: Tennessee

Luke Trouwborst

Time at SBS: 10 years

Going to: Philadelphia (Philadelphia Classical School)

Ethics and Politics, Law and Government, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, English 9, US History, and Pre-Algebra II

• Reading Dante with students, often with the collaboration of Dr. Morley, who has been a joy to work with. Occasionally we have finished the year with our own version of an Italian cena.

• Assisting with theater productions, especially in helping with Carson Tech. Getting to watch my own children in SBS theater productions has been especially meaningful.

• Spending late nights with seniors as Mrs. Loo and I helped coach them on their applications.

• Faculty worship

• Laughing with AP Art students until we cried

• Helping with TAS until the wee hours of the night sewing curtains and creating set props

• Our kids growing up on campus and being part of the community at SBS

• Conversations with students in Ethics and Politics

• Bus rides with the Mock Trial team

• Playing basketball with boys from Monro and Hegeman

“SBS is a special place, especially for students who invest time and energy in the SBS community. As I look back on my years at SBS, my family and I have been blessed with so many great friendships and opportunities. SBS teachers are so much more than teachers. They are mentors who can help change students’ lives, but to experience this, students must actively seek out connections to the adults in their lives. I urge students to continue to do this.”

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:38-39)

“Don’t take your time here for granted.”

Brookers celebrate International Festival, Fashion Runway

By Clinton Kilroy

Imagine, just for a moment, a shining room full of banners and tables, overflowing with the smell of sizzling cheese, savory chicken reaching out its arms to anyone passing by, beef practically jumping out of the tray to make your tastebuds notice it’s succulent flavor, and the list goes on. The room may sound distant from what most people might expect from a Stony Brook event, but this exact event described did indeed happen. Its name? The International Festival.

For those who don’t know, the International Festival is an event hosted once a year by the International Council where many different cultures come together to bring out their most exquisite dishes for the enjoyment of all who participate. The dishes range from Italian Chicken Parmesan all the way to Turkish Baklava. However, the food is not the only attraction at

the International Festival. The variety of cultures not only come together to bring food to the table, but also to bring performances to the stage, with many traditional dances and songs being performed, from the Bob Marley songs to traditional Thai dances.

Overall, the International Festival is an awesome event that shouldn’t be missed. Because it is one of the only big International Council events, it’s obvious that quality is a priority over quantity. The actual setup of the event is very frantic, and the experience can only be done by people who care about making sure everything runs smoothly. The whole experience is almost like running a big restaurant, and making sure the guests are all satisfied can be tough. Even so, the International Council pulled off another fantastic and multicultural Festival. Until next time, and good luck to all the International Festivals to come.

International Festival was held on Saturday, April 13th in Kanas Commons

Editors-in-Chief

Joshua Kim

Autumn Nichols

Photos

Autumn Nichols

Layout

Joshua Kim

Copy Editors

Hanna Jia

Joshua Kim

Autumn Nichols

Writers

Olivia D’Amato

Mike Jia

Clinton Kilroy

Zach Nasruddin

Lucy Tillotson

Maya Venkatesh

Advisors

Ana Arias

Brontte Hwang

Scenes from the Festival from Gabriella Sun

Erick Beausoleil and Madison Dumerlin represent Haiti in the Fashion Runway

Sarah Lee and Rachel Hwang do a K-pop dance

Mrs. Zeron dishes out Honduran cuisine

Dylan Blagrove Lewis sings Bob Marley

KenYa Romeus in a Haitian traditional dance