This past spring break I went to Martinique, an island in the French Caribbean. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Not only were the beaches and terrain beautiful, the people there were the kindest I have ever met. There were not many English speakers, so every conversation I had was in French. This was very difficult, but very rewarding as I became more confident and comfortable with my speaking skills. We went on many ecology excursions, where, for example,  we jumped off cliffs, went yoleing (which I fell off), snorkeling and learned about the most deadly tree in the world (touching the sap will kill you in 4 hours). We were also given a lot of independence, so figuring out how to navigate in a foreign country was incredibly useful. Overall, this trip was amazing and I enjoyed every second of it and I am so grateful I got to participate with the help of the Brown family. Thank you!

I recently was approved for a Brown Grant in order to receive a laptop. The laptop would help me better my skill set for Interior Design, the major I will be studying next year at High Point University. After receiving the laptop I downloaded the program SketchUp, a very commonly used space and floor planning software in the design field. I created an account and immediately started following along to tutorial videos every day during the break in my school day. 

Once I had gotten all the basics of the program down I decided to try to build something I was interested in, a tiny home. I made specific measurements and requirements for the physical building, and then furnished it with standard white utilities to show how the floorplan worked. Learning this program allowed me to learn something I had no prior experience with, and has opened a new door for my future. Knowing how to use something so important in the design world makes me stand out from the rest of the crowd, and that's all thanks to this Brown Grant.

I had a great time at the Pratt pre college program. I learned so much about art and really improved my skills. I learned a lot about different artists and new techniques. I learned a lot about figure drawing and how to do quick sketches. I got to do drawings and paintings with models and I've never done that before. I got to see how it would be to go to an art school. I got to see what it would be like living in a dorm and having a roommate. I really liked being in New York City. This experience helped me make sure that I want to be in the city and be at an art school. I loved it so much. I really enjoyed being around other people that all had the same interests as me. I met so many talented people. I made some friends in the art world. I am so grateful that I got to have this experience.

I had an amazing time at Putney school summer arts. I was given an incredible opportunity to meet new people, get more help on my writing skills, and even explore more things while at Putney. Some of these explorations were in dance and a water coloring class outside of the 2 different writing blocks. It was incredible, I stayed in a dorm and had a set in stone schedule that everyday led to much writing success. I feel that this opportunity has changed me as a writer and as a person.

I've known I wanted to be a pilot for a while now, and the Brown Grant is helping me do just that. With it I've gained over 10 hours of flight time. In those hours, I've had many valuable experiences, like landing at Albany International Airport. I learned so much more about the ins and outs of flying and proven myself to be a very capable pilot. I've flown in basically any conditions, rain or shine. My flights have led me to all kinds of places all over upstate NY and VT, like over the Saratoga Racetracks, Lake George, and even BBA. Overall this grant has given me the opportunity to get so much closer to achieving my most immediate goal - getting my Private Pilot's License.  I still have a long way to go, but if I am fortunate enough to be presented with more Brown Grants for the rest of my high school career, I will no doubt have my license by the time I enter college.

Hi my name is Shterna Gordon and this is my fourth and final Brown Grant and wow was it worth it! This April break I went to Costa Rica with the BBA science trip. This trip was made all the more special with the help of the Brown Grant. You see, the Brown Grant enabled me to pay for college credit from this trip. The trip was an incredible learning experience. I loved the work, place and, people! 

Our trip started before five am as we met in the Albany airport, running on very little sleep. The joy and anticipation was clearly felt as well as a deep relief that this was the moment.

Twenty-two hours later we went to bed in our hotel in Moravia Costa Rica near San Jose. The next day we made the several hour journey to Pacuare, our research station and home for the next three days. Our time there was spent connecting with the researchers, learning about the forest around us and yes doing the turtle census. After a long day and the most delicious dinner ever I got ready for my first turtle census shift. The first night my shift was 8pm-12am. I was exhausted and had barely any sleep but after spending nearly an hour practicing on our fake sand turtles I was ready. 

I lack photos of the turtle census. This is because we needed to wear all black, no lights and no photos. However the memories will forever stay with me. The hours spent talking in the dark. The excitement at seeing my first ever Leatherback sea turtle. I got to help measure the carapace, and another night let the researcher know when she started laying smaller infertile eggs. I had sand kicked at me as I helped measure the distance from nest to sea, and got to meet another group from the South Station for egg transfer.  I learned so much, about how their pineal gland can sense light and help with migration, or how only one in one thousand normally survive to reproductive age. The days too were spent learning about the adaptations of plants, animals, and insects. We even saw these bees that were doing a very unusual behavior with a dead bee of the same species. We aren’t sure what was going on but it was awesome! 

Our next destination took us to the mountains of the country in Tirimbina. After eating lunch in an ecolodge we made the forty minute trip to the other end of the reserve.  Where there is a station for us students. While this place had no researchers we learned so much! From our night walk looking at frogs to our river science day catching and IDing macroinvertebrates. I even saw four critically endangered Great Green Macaws during an optional morning birding adventure! There is so much more that we did but I will leave it at this. This trip was so good not just because of the science and location but the people made the trip too. We were an all girls group and it felt very empowering and awesome! 

Thank you all for reading about my science adventure! Pura Vida!

I went on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic with the Word of Life Bible Institute. I had 5 days of training on the campus before spending 10 days at Word of Life’s camp in the Dominican Republic. While there we helped them set up camp and help run the camp. While we were there over 80 kids accepted Christ as their savior. The experience was life changing

To finish off my last semester of senior year I wanted to feel a little bit more prepared for the future so I chose to take another CCV class on top of my already two free ones. I chose to take botany through the online course. At first I had been a bit skeptical about learning online but then quickly started to feel excited for the assignments that involved going outside to identify trees. Lots of pulling over on the side of the road to take pictures of trees and weird stares from people in their cars, I can say my fascination for the way nature works beyond what our human eye can see has been sparked. Though it’s a class, it can be rough at points, I am still enjoying being able to feel more confident in my ability to do assignments without being in person to have someone remind me! There is a new found sense of independence from taking a class structured like this. With the school year ending I am excited and proud to know that there is a few college credits under my belt.

This summer I attended the Broadway summit in New York where I was able to experience absolutely enchanting and essential workshops for anyone interested in theater, especially going into the industry. I got to work with several stars and educated minds that will leave you in awe with their sheer experience on the matter you’ve been dreaming of for years. The workshops will teach you acting technique and active listening; mindfulness and meditation in theater; dance numbers and eight counts; how to prepare audition material; gratitude for your peers; and countless lessons that are absolutely invaluable for any to-be actors. It was absolutely magical, and the show I was lucky enough to have the ticket to, along with the incredible hotel and area of the big apple I was gifted made me feel pampered, it was truly unforgettable and nearly surreal.

 My name is Ariana Monegro and I'm an 11th grader at BBA. Since April 2023 I've been doing an internship where every friday, I run the Success Cafe in the Manchester Community Library.  The owner of Willoughbys, Courtney Callo has shown me how to run a brand new business. I've learned how to keep track of profits and costs and also how to just work in the food industry. My confidence has improved tremendously and I'm more comfortable with trying new things. I aim to continue to gain more knowledge about the business industry and to learn more skills. 

The experience the Brown Grant made happen for me was 3 weeks of sea kayaking in the San Juan islands and mountaineering in the Northern Cascades. We got sucked into whirlpools, got attacked by hornets, and capsized more than once but we also built incredible communication skills, leadership and initiative skills, and made life long relationships. This trip was a life changing experience and will always and forever be thankful I had the opportunity to experience such a thing. I would definitely recommend this to anybody who had the option to do an Outward Bound trip. 

My experience at the broadway summit was a mostly positive one. I liked that it felt like everyone wanted to be there and learn what the industry was like. I also like the people leading the program.I did feel a little left out but I think that was on my part. This experience also helped me realize that I'd like to shift more on the movies side of acting then theater and stage acting. I also learned how much I love the city and the grand scale of the buildings. The first day we were there I walked everywhere and loved it. At the summit we learned one of the dance numbers in the show and how to be happy and sad within the same sense. The second day we sat down with some actors from the show and asked them questions about the industry.