By The Delphian Staff
Remember those essays you had to write the first day of school back in your elementary days? We thought it would be fun to show you how each of our editors for The Delphian spent their summer. Write to tell us your story and we might publish it on our website at www.thedelphianau.com.
Lizz Panchyk – Editor in Chief
While I was particularly busy this summer, I got the chance to experience many new things and explore new places. In addition to three family trips, I also went to Florida with my friend and she graciously took me to Disney World, my first time being there. Although it was hot and humid, and oftentimes monsooning, I’m so glad I got to go, especially to see Magic Kingdom. The one downfall was waiting 12 hours in the airport for our plane that was delayed several times, but at least we got home.
I also had the opportunity to expand my skills as a journalist as I got to work at University Communications of Adelphi. I work closely with editor Ela Schwartz, chief communications officer Bobbie Dell’Aquilo and media assistant Ana Rodriguez, alongside Joe D’Andrea, where we trained together. You will find my byline and stories published on the Adelphi website, as well as Adelphi Headlines, which is sent through email. I covered the spring Film Festival, a new journal published through open access, and of course, The Delphian’s string of awards won at the Press Club of Long Island event on June 15, among many more.
While I work remotely, I still get a taste of working as a writer, contributing ideas to meetings, conducting interviews and learning new skills and about new people. I’m excited to continue working here throughout the fall semester and I’m very grateful to be given this opportunity.
The perfect balance between work and relaxation, this summer was extremely fulfilling and has prepared me as I enter my senior year.
Joanna Reid – News Editor
I had an eventful summer full of politics, traveling and theater.
I went back to my home in Maryland where I interned for Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD 8th District). I spent lots of time canvassing and phone banking. However, I think my favorite part was getting to meet Raskin and take pictures of him in an Independence Day Parade. Raskin had speakers present to the interns each week, which allowed me to learn more about issues I’m passionate about. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th District) even presented to us over Zoom.
I also did a good amount of traveling (mostly to see theater). I visited Pennsylvania to see a production of Jonathan Larson’s “Tick Tick… Boom!” at Bucks County Playhouse. It was a lovely production that was truly an ode to Larson. Afterwards, I got the chance to meet one of my favorite performers, Andy Mientus, who portrayed Jon in the show. Then in Washington, DC, I saw “Rent” in concert, “Beetlejuice,” “1776,” “Moulin Rouge” and an improv show. Then, of course I could not stay away from Broadway for an entire summer, so I visited New York a few times. One of the highlights of my summer was getting to attend opening night of “Back To The Future The Musical.” I saw many of the celebrities involved with the original movie, including Michael J. Fox, Huey Lewis and Steven Speilburg. I had a great night!
As I’m writing this I will soon be leaving for England with my family. Because I enjoyed London so much through Adelphi’s study abroad program in 2022, I wanted to go back. I am planning to see lots of shows on the West End before classes start at Adelphi.
Joe D’Andrea – Opinions Editor
I live less than 30 minutes from Adelphi, so most of my summer was spent in the same neck of the woods. I’ve been working at the Cradle of Aviation, also in Garden City, for about a year and continued doing so during the summer. I was also able to get some great experience in classrooms, teaching drone classes to middle schoolers, giving tours and showing off the museum’s portable planetarium at libraries and schools from Rockville Centre to Queens.
Last semester, I added a journalism minor to my degree. (I’m a history major in STEP.) Along with my work at the Cradle, I have been freelancing for a weekly publisher, Blank Slate Media, based on Long Island’s North Shore, in which I report on school and town board meetings. The most exciting event I’ve had the chance to cover since I began in January was the Northwell Health Annual Cancer Survivors Day in June, in which I was able to have a sit-down interview with Billy Joel’s original saxophonist, Richie Canata — a dream come true for me.
On top of those two jobs, I began interning for Adelphi’s Communications Department in June, mostly writing about notable students and faculty, featured on the university’s website. Those in the department who have guided me as I learned more about the process of online journalism have been extremely open-minded and helpful, and I’m very thankful to them for taking me in.
My brother and I were also able to stop by a few museums this summer, including the New York Historical Society in the city and the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale (yes, looking at old stuff is fun to me).
I’m excited to continue as The Delphian’s opinions editor as I enter my junior year and know our well-decorated staff will continue to do some great work.
Justin Kresse– Production Editor
This summer was a busy one for me. I worked a little bit at Stereo Barn – a stereo and home theater store I’ve worked at for the past couple summers – but there wasn’t much time to work between all the different places I went.
First, I got to see my dad’s side of the family in Berkeley Springs, WV for Memorial Day weekend, then I headed back to New York (I’m from Pennsylvania) to see some friends. We went to Montauk and visited the lighthouse, but we also went to see the Ed Sheeran concert, which was a lot of fun. I also went to Myrtle Beach with my mom’s side of the family. We saw a couple of shows and hung out by the beach a lot. Then we stayed at a house on the Mattaponi River in Virginia where we got to kayak and go into Richmond one day. We even got up early for the sunrise on the water one day which was so beautiful. I had to see “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” with some friends from high school. Then my immediate family took a short vacation to Canada where we stayed in Toronto and then went to Buffalo and Pittsburgh on the way back to see more family. The last short trip was just me and my sister going down to Arlington, VA to see family for a few days.
It was certainly one busy summer, but I would say busy in a good way because I got to see a lot of family and friends that I hadn’t seen in a while and do some cool stuff.
Kennie Cervantes– Features Editor
Lights, camera, Kennie? My college career has been a journey. Distancing myself from my original computer science major four years later, I now call myself a tech geek turned neighborhood social media manager.
The word “internship” can be quite daunting, especially when your academic and work experience don’t particularly line up with each other. But I bit the bullet when applying to the Jaggar Community Fellowship Program. This position allows Adelphi students to work in the nonprofit sector, and when I received my acceptance letter, I was overjoyed. My placement was at North Shore TV (NSTV), a multi award-winning public access TV station in Lake Success, NY. Throughout the summer, I’ve had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of TV production.
Acquiring knowledge of how to operate cameras, microphones and teleprompters was a very enriching experience. I even had the chance to fiddle around with Adobe Premiere Pro and Canva to create some stunning video footage and graphics. My heart lies in social media and I’ve had the privilege of managing NSTV’s Instagram account.
The most gratifying experience of my internship was getting to meet a wide variety of people. From parenting coaches to Long Island’s greatest entrepreneurs to candidates in the 2023 Congressional race, my network grows each day I film a show.
As my time at Adelphi slowly winds down, I’m happy to say I’ve found my niche in the media industry.
Kurana Doobay – Features Editor
My summer was spent filled with friends, family, fun and festivities!
It started off with my sister; as the textbook definition of a theater kid, she had a lead role in her middle school production of “Moana.” So, the day after I moved back home to South Richmond Hill, I had a fun time starting off the summer with going to her shows every night and celebrating her talent.
Then, one of my cousins in New Jersey had a baby shower, so I spent a weekend over there. A lot of it was like a mini family reunion style event. I was able to see family I haven’t seen in years as well as meet so many family members I never had before — Indo-Caribbean families are giant. I learned a lifetime of information about my family in my home country, Guyana, just in that one weekend.
Probably, one of the most exciting things, one of my closest friends got married. As Hindus, weddings in our religion last an entire week, so every day from May 31 to June 5 was jam-packed with festivities. It was filled with tons of getting all dressed up, singing and dancing, enjoying delicious food, and so much more, as well as participating in religious ceremonies and coming together in prayer. Sticking to the theme of romance, I also helped one of my best friend’s boyfriends propose to her – and she said yes! It was an incredible experience planning the surprise, decorating the venue and witnessing the entire event unfold.
I also went back to work at my summer job. All through the past three summers, I have been working at Bright Kids Daycare, a childcare center in Jamaica, Queens, where I grew up. Over the summer, the center hosts a summer camp program for children aged 3-5 and working with those little ones is always one of my favorite parts of the year. Sometimes, they even teach me more about life than I do them.
While my summer was amazing, I am extremely excited to be going into my senior year and I cannot wait for all of the memories I will be making with my friends here at Adelphi.
Andy Smith – Sports Editor
This summer I was fortunate enough to wear two “hats.” During the weekday mornings, I was a student worker for the Adelphi Communications Department, and during the weeknights and weekends, I was a waiter at Atria Senior Living.
In my role with University Communications, I worked with the production team. This side of the department is responsible for getting projects from beginning to end on time. The production team opens jobs through the online workflow systems such as Contently, Active Campaign and Footprints, reviews client changes, and even list management for email distribution through Active Campaign. Working in this capacity taught me valuable skills that will help me in the present and my future career.
I worked closely with several individuals in University Communications, and it was a pleasure getting to know them and learning from them. This was an incredible experience, and I highly recommend that students always look around campus for career-building opportunities.
I am also entering my second year of working for Atria Senior Living and have nothing but positive experiences to talk about. The elderly are often forgotten in society and deemed unimportant. Each day, I enjoyed listening to stories about their past and the wisdom they shared with me.
This semester I am looking forward to reporting on our great athletic teams and more importantly, cheering on all our student athletes.
Lilyen McCarthy– Sports Editor
‘What didn’t I do this summer?’, is the real question!
Starting off with a bang, I went to night one of Metlife during the Eras Tour for Taylor Swift. All of my childhood (and current) dreams came true, as my best friend and I screamed to every song from the back row of the stadium. I went to two baseball games, one at Citi Field and the other at Yankee Stadium. My favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals, lost the night I saw them play the Mets, but I still had a blast.
My favorite job this summer had to be my internship with the “Long Island Press.” I wrote articles about restaurants, the South Fork wind farm and covered two big stories. When Attorney General Letitia James made an announcement at the Hempstead Planned Parenthood, I was there to cover the press conference. The day after the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was arrested, I was assigned to go to his house and interview Massapequa locals and neighbors. You can find any of my stories by searching up my name and the Long Island Press or Dan’s Papers.
Since the middle of March, I had been helping prepare social media and various administrative work for the Summer Pre-College program on campus. I was the social activities coordinator for the program, which meant I lived on campus with the high school students for the duration of the three-week program in July. Outside of those two positions, I also worked as a server at Red Lobster and coached the Nike volleyball and basketball camps here at the Center for Recreation and Sports.
When I wasn’t working, I was trying my best to have a fun summer as well. I played beach volleyball every Tuesday, went to the Empire State Fair and attended a career fair with the New York Red Bulls!
As I enter into my sixth semester at Adelphi, I am excited for my third season with the volleyball team, my first year as a Resident Assistant in Waldo Hall and of course, being Assistant Sports Editor for the paper. A busy summer prepared me for an even busier year, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Hussein Ali Rifath– News Editor
Since the age of seven, eyeglasses have been a staple of my life. My journey with them started back in fall 2011, when I had just begun Grade 2. Because our class was struggling to add triple-digit numbers, our teacher hoisted a number line up on our classroom wall. She’d have us do mental math with the numbers we saw, and it quickly became clear to me that I couldn’t exactly see them. Up until that point in my life, I took the gift of vision for granted. Just a year prior, I received a perfect score on a routine eye exam. I don’t remember any abrupt change in my vision. My eyesight declined slowly until I found myself sitting in that classroom, confronted by a new reality.
When faced with the unknown, we try to make sense of our circumstances by referencing past experiences. As I sat in the optometrist’s office waiting for my first pair of glasses, I remembered a conversation that I had with my older sister as we watched a YouTube video. She was explaining to me how the gear icon allows us to adjust the picture quality. “The higher number, the better it looks,” she explained. When I put on my glasses for the first time, I couldn’t help but feel that I was seeing the world in 1080p for the first time, after a long life in 480p.
All of this took place in the midst of thick, record-breaking snowfall. The 2011 Halloween nor’easter brought us snow two months early, and I was able to appreciate its beauty. I took this as a good sign of what was to come. Perhaps I was right: when I walked into class the next day, I heard nothing but compliments about my glasses.
They were a fashion accessory born out of necessity: they helped me see the world, and I couldn’t see a life without them. After only a few weeks of everyday use, those who knew me got to know a new me. As they grew to appreciate all my four eyes, the boy behind the frames slowly faded away from memory. Glasses became a trademark of my brand and were entangled with the impression I left on others. My mom, for example, would feel as though something were missing when she saw me without my glasses.
For the next 11 years, I wore glasses. During these years of momentous change, my glasses were a seemingly unshakable mark of consistency. But college, too, has changed me. As the spring semester drew to a close, I got into the habit of walking around without my glasses. I’d keep them in my pocket and only put them on when necessary. I found it difficult at first, but the human body is resilient. I soon became used to my blurry vision. My eyes seemed to shrink because, in a blurry world, my pupils had nothing to focus on. Every step that I took was a culmination of educated guesses of what was before me. I couldn’t live like this.
After trying out contact lenses, my once dormant pupils became fiery once again. I feel more confident, and my actions are more deliberate. My mom tells me that my smile seems more real.
This summer, my pockets have more space.
This summer, I walked without fear.
This summer, I’ve shed my glasses.
Malika Burieva–Social Media Editor
From getting a ring on my finger, traveling to the other side of the world to meet my extended family for the first time, to getting a free hotel room in Dubai, one would say that I had quite a busy summer that could be a Netflix Original Series. It was an experience filled with travel, adventure, reflection of oneself and romance. A summer that I will never forget with a mix of emotions that I experienced, such as delight, wonder, fear, anxiety, jetlag, gratitude and love.
To start in May, I got engaged! My fiancé is a Canadian-Iranian-Turkmen, and I am an American-Uzbek-Turkmen. It’s international relations in a nutshell. The United Nations wishes they could be us. I started my travels by staying with my in-laws in Canada for a month in May. My fiancé is a native Canadian from Ontario, so we toured the significant sights of Ontario, such as Niagara Falls, Toronto and Tim Hortons (the most important tourist sight for an American).
By June, we got back to New York, but in July, as a pre-honeymoon trip, we visited the country from which my family derives, which I have never once visited but heard tales of–a country in Central Asia known as Uzbekistan. The moment my feet landed on Uzbekistan soil, it felt familiar yet unfamiliar. The same feeling occurred when I met my extended family for the first time. They were people that I grew up hearing stories about and talking to on the phone but never actually met face-to-face until July 7, 2023 at 21 years old.
In the country, my family name means something. From my name, I experienced hospitality like none other during our traditional engagement rituals, weddings and walking around bazaars. While my fiancé and I stayed in my mother’s childhood home, some people kept visiting and wanting to see me. People, whom I do not recognize for the life of me, with tears in their eyes saying that I look like my mom and dad and pleading that I send their hello’s to my parents. It was an utter culture shock–one that I will never forget, especially the withdrawal from my Iced Matcha Tea Latte from Starbucks for an entire month. Boy, life on the other side of the world is different from American life.
August concluded the end of our Uzbekistan trip, which was very emotional. To come back to the U.S., we had a connecting flight in Dubai. The Uzbekistan flight to Dubai had a major delay. We didn’t make it to our Dubai flight. Just our luck. But, we took the next flight with a free-of-charge hotel arrangement and got to leave the airport to explore the city until then. Just our luck, literally. An extremely unexpected day trip turned out to be the most joyous adventure. Dubai is such a futuristic city and very safe, but very humid. I was finally able to crave my Starbucks addiction while there, though. It was a happy ending to a perfect summer trip.
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