there’s something you’re interested in, and there’s no club at SBU for it, you can create your own club—well that’s totally true. When I came to SBU four years ago, one of the few sacrifices I made was not being able to sail—go figure why a school ten minutes from the water didn’t have a sailing team, but on the list of con’s for the school, it wasn’t enough to turn me away.

Two years ago, I found a group of people who were all interested in sailing, and we began to forge the beginning of the sailing team. Starting a club involves a ton of paperwork, writing a constitution, and going to lots of workshops to learn how to run a club. After that, if your club is approved, you are assigned a programming advisor, who works in the Student Activities Center and helps you book rooms for meetings and events. Plus, you also get to find a faculty advisor, who is there to help solve personality problems or offer suggestions to the club. When all this is said and done, and you have been around for long enough, you can start the process of obtaining a budget from the Undergraduate Student Government. This is quite the ordeal. I’m pretty sure I went through at least a couple bottles of Tylenol with all the headaches this caused. Long story short, we were able to get $1500 last summer, and then $13,500 for this past school year. We also amazingly got a grant for $20k to purchase boats! Right now we are building up our fleet of 420’s (2 person, 2 sail, racing sailboat that is 4.2m long)- we have two boats that we bought used from SUNY Maritime that are in excellent condition. This week hopefully we’ll finally be taking possession of eleven 420s from the Port Jefferson School District. These boats are quite a bit older, and need some love to get them up to par, but boats are boats! We also have a couple inflatable motor boats for coaches.

For the past couple months we have been launching into Port Jeff Harbor on the weekends—and hopefully soon enough we will officially be partnered with the Setauket Yacht Club- we won’t be homeless anymore!

This past weekend, five varsity sailors and our coach went down to Annapolis for our first ever MAISA-sanctioned regatta. What’s MAISA? Most college sports are regulated by the NCAA. Sailing doesn’t fall under NCAA- instead MAISA is our “governing body”.

On Saturday we sailed ten races—gorgeous 85 degree weather! By the end of the day, the team finished third out of five schools!! Pretty awesome! Because the weather cooperated, the regatta was able to be finished in one day... it was supposed to extend to Sunday. So with the day off, we decided to drive forty five minutes south, and spent a couple hours tearing through DC! I had never been to DC, so it was pretty awesome to get to see the White House, Capitol, and all the other fun stuff. I was especially happy to get to see the WWII Memorial—both my grandfathers served in WWII, my uncle served in Vietnam, and I currently have a cousin in the Navy and a brother in the Army. Multigenerational military family :)

The ride back Sunday was a bit long, and just in time to welcome in finals week... gotta love Jersey Turnpike traffic!

wall you drink water out of is “bubbler.” Four years later, I have discovered that the pies that are delivered at 2 am come in cheese and pepperoni, not apple and blueberry. I’ve become hooked on fresh bagels, especially the green St Patty’s day ones, and I have learned that a fountain is what most of the country drinks water out of...

With three weeks left of classes, it’s hard to believe my four years as an undergrad at SBU are about to come to end. Senioritis is kicking in... As it’s supposed to be 85 tomorrow, it is going to take some serious self-bribery to force myself into going to my afternoon classes.

The warm weather means lots of Stony Brook’s spring traditions are right around the corner. This week is Earthstock, which ends with a duck race down the “brook” in the center of campus. At the end of the month is Strawberry Fest, and in the beginning of May we have the Roth Pond Regatta. Add in graduation activities— Baccalaureate Honors Convocation for those graduating with Latin Honors, the University Commencement (ie graduation), and the College of Engineering and Applied Science Convocation (a more individualized ceremony that the University Commencement). I am also lucky enough to be attending the Undergraduate Recognition Award Ceremony next week! As if this all wasn’t enough fun and excitement, I have a sailing team regatta next weekend, a trip to Maryland for a race the following weekend, and then the Port Jefferson Maritime Festival the second weekend in May. I was out sailing yesterday and again this morning... life is good!!

As you can see, this leaves lots of room for studying for finals this year.... luckily I only have one final :)

The major hurdle between graduation and me is finalizing a yearlong engineering project. As senior engineering students, we take a two-semester course that is the capstone to the classes we have taken for three years: the senior design project. Starting in September, we form teams, meet with a faculty mentor, and develop a plan to build a biomedical device. My group decided to create a bandage that uses vibrations to help accelerate wound healing. We spent two months doing research on wound healing and current treatments and technology. From there, we developed a general engineering design, did a market analysis to see if it would be a viable product, and met with a lawyer to discuss patentability. This past semester we focused on creating a prototype, and then modifying the device to make it even better. Over the next two weeks we will make our final product, and finish up a report that we will be submitting to a national engineering competition!

going to SBU. I made the trip by myself; after having my parents with me for several campus tours, I decided that I wanted to make my first impressions of SBU on my own. The way I figured it, if I enrolled at SBU, I would be on my own anyways, since I didn’t know anyone within two hundred miles of the campus.

My drive down wasn’t bad, then again who else is really on I-95 at 7am on a Saturday morning. I parked my car in one of the empty lots near a bunch of dorms, and started to walk around. My first thought: ‘Where is everyone??’ I know now, very few college kids are up and running around at 9am on a Saturday. Ironically, the weekend I chose to visit was the same weekend as I-CON, a sci fi convention that involves a lot of people dressed up in crazy costumes. I was a little thrown off... and secretly hoped that everyone at SBU didn’t walk around with neon colored hair, as, lets face it, that’s not really my style 365 days a year. I entertained myself a bit until the official campus tour, which was led by a student, who also happened to be from MA, who explained the rather unusual characters running around campus. Phew! An information session followed the campus tour, and by then, I was pretty sure SBU was the place for me. I was accepted directly into the Biomedical Engineering Program, had access to amazing research opportunities, and had the potential to enroll in the SBU Paramedic Program. Everything just seemed to fit. And I’m pretty sure I used those exact words when I called my family just before I left (which, by the way, was way more eventful than my trip down... I made a wrong turn going through a toll, and ended up lost in the Bronx. Fun times.) My decision was made—thanks but no thanks, Cornell, my heart and mind were at SBU!!

For many prospective out-of-state students, a random day trip to SBU is out of the question. Especially with gas prices, and the crazy athletics or extracurricular schedules high schoolers tend to have. This is why SBU has put great effort into developing a bunch of resources to help people to get to know us here at SBU, without leaving the comfort of your own home.

1: An interactive online tour! www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/tour/360.shtml
The folks at YourCampus360 have done an amazing job taking our campus, and turning it into a little virtual world. The online tour combines pictures that really simulate walking around campus, with videos, and 360 degree panoramas. There’s information about dorms, where to eat, campus life, and athletics. Some clubs are featured with their own page under the “Clubs” section, and there’s link to the student blogs as well.


2: A mobile phone app!
www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/itour/
Bored in class and want to pretend you’re already in college? Here’s the perfect solution. Most of the information from the online virtual tour is also on the mobile app. And, as an added bonus, if you are able to make it to campus, this app will show you where you are on the campus map, and will tell you about each building as you walk past (that’s yours truly’s voice that you hear!). This is great for in case you come to campus and aren’t able to schedule a campus tour. And, if some of the buildings are locked when you come, not to worry, as there’s lots of pictures of the interiors of the buildings on the app as well.


3: Live Online Chats
www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/blogs/chat.shtml
Want some answers, fast? A great way to interact with Admissions Counselors and current students in real time is by participating in our online chats. Each chat has a target audience, for example, out-of-state students, School of Journalism, etc, although everyone is welcome to join in. Having moderated many of these chats, I can tell you that they are always entertaining. Lots of great questions come up, and it’s a good way to meet people you may be taking classes with! Never too soon to start looking for your roommates!


4: Admitted Student Receptions
Throughout the spring, Admissions Counselors run Admitted Student Receptions, where they come to your state, and hold a party of sorts to tell you about why you should come to SBU, and let you meet other people who were admitted from your area. Next week I’ll be going back home to go to the MA Reception! I admit you do have to leave your house for this one, but it is well worth it. At the very least, recoup some of your application fee by coming for the delicious food! (You know you’re a college student when free food is one of your motives to going to some on campus event)

that didn’t stop us! As part of a safety requirement, everyone who went out sailing was wearing either a wet suit or dry suit, which both helps keep warmth in on bitterly cold days. I hate getting cold, so I added a fleece hat and ski mask to my dry suit...

We met at Port Jefferson Harbor, and rigged up our two 420s. A 420 is a two person, two sail, racing sailboat, that’s 4.2 meters long (creative name, right?). We also have a motorboat, so in case the wind dies down, we can get the sailboats back to shore.

What was involved with getting my team (I literally mean, ‘my team’- I’m the President and Co-Founder of the team :) ) on the water?? A couple of us had an idea to start a sailing team during the summer of 2010. From there, we adapted a club that existed at the Southampton campus, and brought it to the SBU main campus. From there, we had to create a Constitution, elect officers, and grow our membership. Next up, we had to get a budget from the Undergraduate Student Government, which is much easier said than done. I never would have imagined the red tape involved in getting a budget.... in fact I’m pretty sure there’s enough red tape involved to circle the equator of the Earth several times. Very, very long story short, we managed to receive $1500 last summer to purchase our motor boat and safety supplies, and then received $13500 this academic year to purchase sailboats, a trailer, safety equipment, and dry suits. This past week we were just approved for a large one-time-only grant, that will allow us to purchase even more sailboats, as well as hopefully floating docks.

We’ve also traveled to Maryland to become accepted into the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association, which is the NCAA equivalent for sailing. MASIA recognition is huge—it lets us compete in regattas against schools like Columbia, US Naval Academy, SUNY Maritime, and Georgetown. For a full list, check out the MAISA website! collegesailing.org/maisa/ We’ve also been able to get approval from the Port Jefferson Harbormaster to sail out of Port Jefferson Harbor, and hope to be able to make the Setauket Yacht Club our permanent home in the near future. All very, very exciting things!!!

So where do we go from here?? Certain members of the team (primarily those who have sailed before and already have a dry suit or wet suit) will be out on the water twice a week, beginning to learn how to race as a team. These people are considered the Varsity Squad. There’s a lot of people who have never sailed before, who are also part of the club. These folks make up the Recreational Squad, and will head out on the water after they go through some classroom lectures, and once we have dry suits for teammates to borrow.

Interested in learning more about the SBU Sailing Team?? Check out our website!! www.ic.sunysb.edu/Clubs/sailing