A senior anthropology major from Holbrook, NY, Greg is a RA in H-Quad. You might have seen him “parkouring” around campus. He was kind enough to answer a few of our questions; below are his answers:
I have traveled a great deal in my life, living both in New York and Utah, and taking extended trips to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Madagascar. All of these trips were done as study abroad programs in high school and at Stony Brook University. I have always believed that traveling is the best way to learn more about the world and about yourself because it puts your own life in a new light. The best traveling experience I have had was the three months that I spent in Madagascar, an island nation off the coast of South Africa. We lived on the edge of a rain forest in tents studying the wildlife and learning about collecting scientific data in the field. There were no phones or internet access except for limited use at the nearest native town which was 5 km away from the research facility. I had the time of my life during those three months and came back with eyes opened wide about the differences and luxuries that we have and take for granted.
I try to lead my life based on a mission statement that I wrote for myself a few years back. It goes: “the climb to perfection is wrought with the goals that we set and traced with the footprints of our accomplishments.” I like to set goals for myself by using a bucket list, which keeps track of all the things I want to do before I die, and it is pages and pages long. These goals help me push harder towards success and remind me how short life is, and how important it is to make every day the best day.
I have been with my wonderful girlfriend, Rachel, for almost seven years now. There are so many parts of our chemistry that made it so easy to fall in love with her and stay so close over the years. The most important part is that she is not only my girlfriend, but also my best friend. We share everything and hold nothing back in our relationship. I know that I can trust her and tell her anything and that she will be there to praise me on my success and be my support whenever I need it. She is beautiful, smart, funny, and is able to challenge me mentally. I love that we can have intellectual conversations and debates about all kinds of things, but also be able to not say much to each other, but still have that deep connection.
A fun fact about me is that I fly single-engine airplanes and I am working on getting my private pilot’s license.