The annual Stony Brook Southampton Beach Clean-Up on Warner Island took place on Saturday, May 4, 2019, and despite some sketchy weather, the event was a success.

A team from Stony Brook Southampton removed trash from the beach.

Volunteers collected several bags of trash, consisting mostly of plastic and Styrofoam, which were removed from the small island in Shinnecock Bay.

Participants included lecturer and Semester by the Sea director Kurt Bretsch; Paul Shepson, Dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences; Jody Shepson; Sabrina Simone and Finn Morrissey.

The event was promoted by the Stony Brook Southampton Residence Life, which also provided lunch, and was part of the Town of Southampton’s annual Great East End Clean-Up.

Read more on this article at SB News

From the start of her treatment at Stony Brook Cancer Center, Rosanne Rogé knew that her journey from breast cancer patient to breast cancer survivor wasn’t only about her.

By funding breast cancer innovation at Stony Brook Cancer Center, Rosanne Rogé hopes to help other women find successful conclusions to their own beast cancer journeys.

“In the beginning,” Rosanne said, “they asked me if they could use my breast tissue for research, and I said of course. Think about the women who went through this before me and who volunteered for breast cancer research, that eventually helped me. In respect for those women, I need to pay it forward.”

Now, Rosanne and her husband, Ron, are doing their part to advance breast cancer research at Stony Brook through the Ronald and Rosanne Rogé Breast Cancer Innovation Fund.

The Fund is designed to give the Breast Cancer program’s leadership the ability and flexibility to incubate and accelerate discoveries, translate seed funding into sustainable funding for researchers’ projects, and acquire cutting edge technology to further advance breast cancer research.

“The fact that Rosanne Rogé is now cancer-free is a testament to what Stony Brook doctors are capable of today,” said Dr. Yusuf Hannun, Stony Brook Medicine’s Vice Dean for Cancer Medicine, Joel Strum Kenny Professor in Cancer Research, and Director of the Stony Brook Cancer Center. “The philanthropic support we receive from Rosanne, Ron, and our other donors makes the difference in what we’ll be capable of tomorrow.”

“The last day of chemo,” she said, “all the nurses walk out with you to the waiting room, where there are people who are waiting to go in for treatment. They escort you to this bell, and you ring the bell to celebrate the completion of your chemo.

It was just, ‘Oh my God, it’s done.’ They all stood there, and they all cheered, and the people who were waiting for chemo stood up and cheered as well. I looked at them and said, ‘You are all going to be able to ring this bell one day too, because these folks are going to take such wonderful care of you, and you will have no fear.”

And now, the Rogés will be a part of helping future Stony Brook breast cancer patients reach that bell as well.

Read more about this article at SB News

AVID Strategies is a college readiness program designed to help students develop the skills they need to be successful in college, and Derek, the 6th grade student, expressed in his letter his desire to one day attend Stony Brook, how he couldn’t wait to be a Seawolf, and requested a Stony Brook T-shirt for their group picture.

Dr. Gatteau visited East Irondequoit Middle School in Rochester to meet with Ms.Keita Davis’ class and with Derek, the student who wrote him a letter expressing his desire to one day attend Stony Brook.

Serendipitously, Dr. Gatteau was going to be in Rochester attending a conference that was located in a nearby area.

“When I looked at the letter I realized it was from Rochester, NY, and while I had never been to Rochester before, I was traveling there for work this week! So I reached out to the teacher to see if I could visit the school and surprise Derek and the class with our famous ‘What’s a Seawolf?’ T-shirts.”

After coordinating with the school district, Dr. Gatteau met Ms. Davis, the school principal, the AVID class and Derek. He had the opportunity to talk with the class and answer their questions about college and his role in the University, besides delivering Seawolf swag to the whole class.

Derek and the class were thrilled to hear about college — and especially about Stony Brook — straight from the horse’s mouth.

When asked about his experience, Dr. Gatteau said, “My parents were both elementary school teachers, so education has been an important part of our family. Meeting Derek and the class brought back a lot of wonderful school memories and reminded me how much great teachers impact our lives. A day I will never forget!”

Read more about this article at SB News