The week before finals is not your typical time for student volunteering, but that doesn’t stop the young ladies of Alpha Sigma Alpha.

The group participates in a 5k event through Girls on the Run, a national organization dedicated to inspiring girls  in grades 3-8 to be healthy, joyful and confident.

Sorority sisters from Alpha Sigma Alpha are ready to run and encourage young girls to pursue their dreams.

Involvement in the annual 5k run has increased for the sorority. This year, they had six  volunteers participate as running buddies,  each one paired up with a young girl to walk, run or sprint the race together.

Others from the group gave their their time to help with the event logistics such as set-up and take down.  One student, Sarah Elsesser, a senior journalism major,  became a running buddy for the first time this year. “I was really inspired to do the run after seeing last year how excited the girls were,” said Elsesser.

The Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority sisters traveled to New Jersey in the past to attend the event, and found a local chapter in Nassau County for this year.

Girls on the Run uses running to inspire and motivate girls. They meet in small groups to learn life skills and encourage them to pursue their dreams.

The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University launched the Flame Challenge in 2012.  The challenge: can scientists answer and communicate complex concepts in a way that is understandable to an 11-year old?

After reviewing hundreds of questions submitted by children from around the world, the 2015 Flame Challenge asked the eye-opening question, “What is sleep?”

The Flame Challenge is an international contest for scientists to explain complex concepts in terms understood by an 11-year-old.

“The idea was to urge scientists to communicate more clearly,” said Alan Alda, actor, science advocate and visiting professor at Stony Brook University. The Flame Challenge began in 2012 with Alan Alda’s childhood query: What is a flame? 

This year’s question, “What is sleep?” was submitted by Ms. Wohlberg’s sixth grade class from Garden City Middle School in New York.

In other years, scientists were asked to explain color and time. Hundreds of scientists, ranging from graduate students to senior researchers, submit their entries in video or written form.

The entries are judged by thousands of 11-year-olds from around the world. “By now, tens of thousand of kids from all over the world have excitedly delved into the mysteries of nature as they’ve judged the scientists’ entries,” said Alda.

The winning scientists, Brandon Aldinger of Renfrew, PA and Eric C. Galicia of Des Plaines, IL, received a trip to New York City to meet with Alan Alda, and were honored at the World Science Festival in May.

Freedom School is growing up – or rather the young Freedom School scholars at Stony Brook University are.

Many of the 50 elementary school children from the Longwood and Wyandanch school districts who participated in the Stony Brook pilot program in 2013 were back on campus for their third summer this year, and they were more excited than ever about being here.

Freedom School Servant Leader Intern Danielle Meyers ’16 leads a class discussion on one of the program’s books.

“The children who are fifth graders now are maturing, and their enthusiasm for Freedom School is off the charts,” said Stony Brook EOP/AIM Director Cheryl Hamilton, who co-directs the Freedom School program on campus.

She commented on the notable excitement every morning during Harambee, (a Swahili word for “Let’s pull together”) a routine that begins each day with motivational cheers, chants and songs.

Reading is an integral part of the program. Each a week the children can choose a book from the Freedom School Library to take home and add to their own family library.

One of the requirements of the program is a weekly parent meeting that takes place in their community, allowing for all involved to share the students’ progress. Freedom School provides inspiration and allows the children to dream about a positive future, including the possibility of going to college.