Why I Give: Mariana Martins ’09

I’m very grateful for all of the incredible opportunities I received at Stony Brook, and I would not have attended had I not received financial support through the Provost’s Scholarship and the Palmedo Scholarship. During my time at Stony Brook in the Department of Psychology, I worked with top researchers and was encouraged to develop my own research project, which really set me up for success in graduate school and in my career. Not every undergraduate gets exposed to that level of deep problem solving and responsibility, and I still leverage many of the lessons learned to this day. In the Art department, I developed the tools to explore my own creativity and received critiques that helped to elevate my work as an artist.

Looking back on my time at Stony Brook, I feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to explore different areas of interest as an undergraduate, and benefit from the skill and mentorship of top faculty. I believe I am a more well-rounded person for it. The scholarship funds made it possible for me to attend, and I hope that my gift will continue that cycle. I hope that my contribution will help make it possible for a student to attend Stony Brook who otherwise would not have been able to. Giving makes me think back on my time at Stony Brook and value the tools and relationships I developed during my undergraduate education.