Student Advisory Board

The Student Advisory Board helps the journalism faculty plan both social and educational extracurricular activities and, as its name implies, advises the school on the journalism program.
To talk to the advisory board, email them at jrn.student@gmail.com.

Rohma Abbas,
Dyker Heights, NY
Senior
As executive editor of Stony Brook University’s online newspaper, The Independent, Rohma said, she has written stories, taken pictures, laid out pages and edited photos, videos and copy. “I pretty much do everything,” she said. “I enjoy it. It’s very rewarding when you get to see the end product.” She came to Stony Brook University in 2005 after hearing rumors that the journalism minor offered at the university was going to develop into a major. “I wasn’t sure when it would happen, but I just kind of crossed my fingers and hoped it was approved. By my sophomore year, it was. It was perfect timing, so I have comfortably finished in four years and will graduate in May.” She said while she loves the state-of-the-art newsroom, the best thing about the School of Journalism is the faculty. “You really can’t get a better faculty. I find them much more real and personable than some others around campus.”

Ashley Barton
Westbury, NY
Senior
Ashley transferred to Stony Brook University from Wagner College on Staten Island in her junior year and knows she made the right decision. “Just knowing the faculty and the staff, they’re doing a great job--especially promoting internships for us,” she said. Last summer, she interned at Multichannel News, which she called an “amazing job,” and she is currently interning at News 12 Long Island right now. “It’s been a great experience. And I got school credit,” she said, adding that she felt prepared because of the skills she acquired at the School of Journalism. “The broadcast department is absolutely phenomenal in terms of the technology and equipment,” she said. “I’m hoping that because of all of this I can land a job as a general-assignment broadcast news reporter.”

Alex Berkman
East Islip, NY
Senior
Alex came to Stony Brook University “straight out of high school in 2003.” He studied anthropology for three years and then took a year off to contemplate his future. “Now I’m graduating as a journalism major in May. I’m a super-duper senior,” he said. He feels he will leave the School of Journalism prepared for the “cutthroat” nature of the business. “If you don’t have the skills, you won’t make it. I think they’re preparing me for it although I don’t know if you can ever be fully prepared for what will come at you,” he said. He hopes to pursue a career in print journalism. “Long form, at some point, hopefully,” he said.

Stephanie Brumsey
Senior
Far Rockaway, NY
Stephanie came to Stony Brook University as a pre-med student on the advice of her godmother, an alumna. "She recommended that I go here because she said it's a warm and loving environment," Stephanie said. "I find that to be true." Although Stephanie came to study science, it wasn't long after she arrived that the School of Journalism opened its doors, and she was immediately interested in learning more about the program. "There is this ongoing family joke that I should be a news anchor because I love to talk and need to know everyone's business," she said. "Everyone said I might as well make a career of it. So now I am." She said she will "most definitely" leave Stony Brook University's School of Journalism prepared for a career in her chosen field and cites the newsroom and faculty as two of the best things about the school. "The newsroom facility rocks, and the faculty pushes you hard but nurtures you at the same time," she said. The internships made available through the school are another bonus, as are the many student-run news organizations on campus. "I have interned with SBU-TV and The Statesmen” – two student-run news outlets—“and with McGraw-Hill's Aviation Week and Space Technology. I've learned so much in the past few years. I'm excited to start my career."

Adrian Carrasquillo
Richmond Hill, NY
Senior
Adrian came to Stony Brook University as a business major. “I realized that I liked business, but I didn’t love it. I always loved writing, and I decided that is what I’m meant to do,” he said. Now he has his heart set on a career as a political journalist. “I had been doing sports journalism, but I just really got into the election and I thought I might want to do something more meaningful than just sports.” He said he had a great time on Election Night in the School of Journalism’s newsroom lab. “It was very, very crazy,” he said. “We had live stories, live blogging, live videos. We did stories on why people were not voting, who was not voting, what the women’s issues in this election were. I did one on the effect of technology in the election.” He recently completed an internship with the Web site tubethevote.com. “It just started in August, and it’s trying to frame the vote for youth. There is so much on the site. People need to understand the context of what’s being said. It’s related to the news literacy that we learn here.” He said that in addition to the feeling that he is pursuing his life’s calling, the other best thing about the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University is the faculty. “Finding what I feel I’m supposed to be doing is really great. And every time I meet instructors, they have such a wealth of knowledge and that is great,” he said.

Lynn Hsieh
Elmhurst, NY
Senior
Lynn entered Stony Brook University as a biology/pre-med major transferring in from Baruch College. Then she took Dean Howard Schneider’s Journalism 101 class, News Literacy. “I really liked it and decided this is what I want to do,” she said. She did have some journalism experience from high school and Baruch, and she relished the opportunity to gain more knowledge. At Stony Brook, she is the editor-in-chief at The Statesmen, the university’s 50-year-old newspaper. Last summer, she interned on the business desk at the New York Daily News. Besides offering practical experience, Lynn said, the School of Journalism presents great classes taught by a great faculty. “I really enjoy the curriculum and the professors. I feel they go out of their way to help you. They are very responsive to the students’ needs. And they realistically show you the future of journalism. It’s not all cotton candy and fluff. They tell you what is really happening. They give you the scope of what you should be prepared for, and they instill a passion for journalism.” In addition to print experience, Lynn has learned how to create online video packages, slide shows, blogs and basic web pages using HTML and Adobe Dreamweaver.

Michael Kelly
Clifton Park, NY
Junior
Michael came to Stony Brook University to study math, but he changed his mind soon after taking a journalism class as an elective. “I came here after hearing about Stony Brook from a friend’s brother. But I’m a journalism major now,” he said. He said the School of Journalism’s two-floor, state-of-the-art newsroom is exciting to work in. “You really get the feeling that you are in the center of a real newsroom,” he said. “It’s a really nice place to be able to go to.” He said his favorite journalism class so far has been Journalism 110, News Writing and Reporting. “It was all the basics. How to write a lead, the first sentence. I just really enjoyed it,” he said. After graduating, he hopes to begin a career as an investigative reporter either in print or online. Either way, he said, he feels he will be prepared.

Annie Loynd
Stratford, CT
Freshman
After hearing about the journalism program at a college fair, Annie decided Stony Brook University was the place for her. “I knew it was fairly new and they were building it up and, now being here, it’s obvious that they’re putting a lot into it,” she said. In addition, she said, the faculty is made up of acclaimed journalists, she said. “They’re very prestigious, and that was really important to me. I wanted people who had actual experience in the field.” She said she has not regretted her decision to study journalism at Stony Brook, although she has so far taken only a news literacy class. “That’s the first requirement. It teaches us how to get the truth out of the news we hear or see,” she said. At this point, she hopes to become a magazine journalist. “But I’m keeping my options open,” she said. “I’m looking forward to learning more about all the areas of the field.”

Sadaf Majahid
East Quogue, NY
Sophomore
Sadaf came to Stony Brook University following in the footsteps of both her older brother and sister. “I’m a legacy,” she said. “I was interested in journalism, but it was more about my parents not wanting me 'dorming.' They wanted me to live at home.” Her commute takes her about an hour every day. Serendipitously, she came just as the School of Journalism was forming as a major. “I love writing and was very happy that they began offering it as a major,” she said. “I declared my major one week after coming here.” She said she originally thought she wanted to work in print journalism. But after being exposed to the School of Journalism’s broadcast center, she changed her mind. “I can’t wait to go into broadcasting,” she said. “I love working with the camera, and we have an opportunity to learn video editing.” The computers in the newsroom lab are equipped with video-editing software. Sadaf said she is also taking still photography and reporting classes in the lab. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to work in there,” she said. “It’s very exciting.” She said she is looking forward to gaining additional experience via an internship. “I’m going to do a little more coursework first,” she said, adding that she feels a lot of support in the School of Journalism from both the faculty and her fellow students. “It’s very close-knit,” she said. “You really get to know the professors, and you’re with the same people in the same classes, and you know who to go to if you have a problem. You can get lost in the university, but when you’re in the journalism program you know where to go and what to do.”

Adam Peck
Scarsdale, NY
Junior
Adam said his biggest reason for coming to Stony Brook University was simply that he loved the overall campus. “I didn’t even know about the journalism program. But after taking 101, News Literacy, and then 110, Introduction to Reporting and Writing, I decided I really loved the staff and the curriculum and the whole news program.” He said that “technically” he is on the broadcast news track. But said he feels he will be prepared for wherever his career takes him. “I could see myself working in any medium,” he said. “The faculty here does a really good job of making sure the students know how to at least work with every type of media. That’s going to be incredibly useful in the future, especially with journalism changing the way it is.” He said his favorite thing about the School of Journalism is getting to know his fellow students. “I know almost everyone in the major,” he said. Also, the professors are “phenomenal,” he said. “That’s one of the big reasons why I joined the major in the first place.”

April Warren
Sayville, NY
Senior
When April Warren began at Stony Brook University in 2005, the major did not yet exist. “There was just the journalism minor. I came for marine sciences,” she said. Three years later, she has settled in comfortably as journalism major. “Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it’s a small school within a big school,” she said. “You are one-on-one with the faculty, and since they were professionals it’s invaluable to be able to speak to them closely. It’s such a great experience.” She said that the academic program is bolstered by the internships available to students. “I interned at Newsday, and there I was a general assignment reporter on the Long Island desk. I got to cover court cases to murders to feature pieces. I did one story on the Para-Olympic bike races.” She said in addition to the experience she gained, she produced clips--examples of her work--which are a journalist’s calling card. “That opportunity to get those clips was priceless,” she said. She hopes to pursue a career in as a beat reporter on a newspaper. “Whether that’s politics or environmental or something else, I’m not sure,” she said. “We’ll see what happens.”

Jackie Zabielski
Farmingdale, NY
Junior
Jackie transferred from Manhattan College in 2006. She now commutes to Stony Brook from home in Farmingdale and is very happy with her decision. “What sold me on transferring here was seeing the newsroom. But now that I’ve had the opportunity to interact with the staff and learning they are all current or former journalists, that’s just as important,” she said. “Right after I came, the broadcast center was just getting going. Now we have a gorgeous facility,” she said. She said she has enjoyed all of her classes but particularly a voice presentation class with Associate Dean Marcy McGinnis, a former senior vice president for news coverage at CBS News. She said she enjoyed Journalism 310 and 370, Reporting and Writing for Broadcast and Advanced Reporting and Writing/Broadcast, respectively. “You learn how to work the cameras, the editing system and how to report,” she said. Although she has not yet done an internship, she currently works part-time for Cablevision as a producer in its local-programming department. She is pursuing an internship in the Associated Press’s video division.

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For more information, call the
School of Journalism Office at (631) 632-7403.