There are several reasons why I chose Stony Brook. Most important to me and my family was the cost of attendance. So financial aid was something that was very important to my parents, and being a New York State student, I get reduced tuition as well as being eligible for New York state scholarships like Excelsior and TAP.  

I love my program, Environmental Studies in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. I think they have a lot of great opportunities for me as someone who loves being in nature and exploring nature and studying nature.  

There are some really great classes, like what I'm taking right now, which is marine ecology. We have the Semester by the SEA program, when students get to take classes in the traditional classroom as well as in the field on a boat. And then there's also study abroad opportunities like the winter in Jamaica.   

I love the Caribbean student organization, or CSR, because there's a duality to it. On one hand, we like to put on fun activities to celebrate Caribbean culture and just have fun and dance. We also host general body meetings when we have these really intellectual conversations.   

The best thing I like to do on campus is just to check the Corq app and see what organizations are hosting events for free during the week. Some of my favorites to go to are hosted by the Asian Student Association. A friend and I went to the Lunar New Year festival earlier this semester, where we got to learn traditional Japanese and Chinese calligraphy.

There's endless support at Stony Brook, and one of the first things that I picked up about this campus is that there's tons of offices for any kind of support you need. Whether it's academic, like the Academic Success and Tutoring Center, or whether you need physical and mental health, we have the Student Health Center that has services that they offer. No matter what it is that you’re gone through, in my experience, there's help for you.