This year at Kelly Quad, home of the Undergraduate College of Human Development, resident assistant Noah Montague ‘19 dreamed up the Kelly Music Festival, a musical bash with a charitable twist.

Earlier this year, Montague, a second-year resident assistant, suggested the quad put together a battle of the bands party. His supervisors told him that years ago, Kelly was known for an annual music festival. Montague thought it was a perfect fit.

“I wanted to take what was offered in the past, which was just musical performances, and expand it to include other activities, food and off-campus vendors,” he said.

“We wanted to offer an event that was more than just having fun. Ideally, we also wanted the ability to contribute to an organization that could benefit from our support,” Montague explained.

They began to research charities focused on music education, and selected the Save the Music Foundation, a nonprofit that provides public schools with funding, materials and professional development for music education programs. Proceeds from a Stony Brook apparel raffle at the fest will be donated to the foundation.

Kelly Music Fest featured performances from a variety of student and local musicians. They included singer-songwriters, pop artists, and R&B/hip hop groups, among others.

Sal Fratto ‘19, an English major and jazz studies minor, is no stranger to taking the stage. While Fratto performed solo at the fest, his indie-punk band Elephant Jake has toured half of the U.S. and parts of Canada.

“It’s so important to keep a sense of community thriving at the University, and live music is a great way to accomplish that,” Fratto said. “The camaraderie here at Stony Brook is unparalleled. Being a part of this festival has been really important to me, and I was honored to perform for everyone.”

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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.

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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.

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