Monjmaa Sanoh, who recently graduated from Uncommon Charter High School, is spending her summer far away in the woods of Maine, very different from the bustle of Crown Heights.
Before heading to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the fall to study architecture, Sanoh is spending this summer at Camp Uncommon in Otisfield, Maine, where she is serving as a camp counselor.
It’s an opportunity for her to give back to the camp that gave her so much when she was younger, growing up in Brooklyn.
She was 10 years old when she first attended Camp Uncommon over the summer and fell in love with it – spending the next three summers there, including a virtual camp during the pandemic in 2020.
“I came back as a counselor because I wanted to give the same experiences I had to new kids,” Sanoh said.
Now in its 10th year, Camp Uncommon serves over 500 campers annually, predominantly Black and Brown children from under-resourced communities who attend Uncommon Schools’ campuses in Brooklyn as well as Rochester, N.Y., Newark and Camden, N.J., and Boston.
For 10 days, campers get to do all the fun activities found at typical sleepaway camps, including flag football, soccer, kickball, basketball, arts and crafts, tennis, pickleball, theater, dance, lake swimming, and of course, campfires.
But Camp Uncommon is more than just a summer getaway, said Mike Callahan, the Director of the camp. Every day, campers take part in values-based activities that focus on increasing their independence, curiosity, and self-confidence, he said. The camp also hosts community meetings in the morning and evening, called Morning and Evening Summits.
“It’s a transformative experience that supports the academic, social, and personal development of students in powerful ways,” Callahan said. “Camp Uncommon provides campers with a safe, joyful space to grow into their best selves. At camp, kids also learn to trust and be open to new experiences and new people.”
Callahan shared that the camp encourages campers to step outside their comfort zones, whether it’s trying a new activity, speaking up in a group, or being away from home for the first time.
“These moments help campers realize they are capable of more than they imagined,” Callahan said.
Qa’Sani Pena, 14, who will be starting her freshman year at Uncommon Charter High School in Brooklyn, has been going to the camp for the last six years. She said when she first went to camp, it was her first time being away.
“I was really scared,” she said. “It was kind of hard for me to make new friends.”
But now Qa’Sani said she feels like camp is her second home. When she sees fellow campers in Brooklyn, she said it puts a smile on her face.
“Going to this camp changed me,” Qa’Sani said. “The camp really taught me to learn how to trust people, and to, you know, accept myself, and to learn how to accept others.”
Ethan Branch, 12, who is starting eighth grade in a few weeks at Uncommon Brownsville North Middle School, has been attending the camp for the last four years. When he first participated in the camp, he said he was shy.
“I didn’t feel very confident because I was a long way from home,” he said. “What I love most about Camp Uncommon is that they really make me feel like I’m at home.”
Ethan said the camp had the same feel as the fictional Camp Kikiwaka in the Disney hit series Bunk’d, which is set in Maine. “We were actually in bunks and had that in-the-woods experience.”
Camp Uncommon is also a space for many Uncommon alum and staff members to grow as leaders. On a leadership team of 12 staffers, nine are current or former Uncommon staff members, and four are alumni of Uncommon Schools.
Christum Noel, who serves as the Head of Camper Support, is the Dean of Students at Uncommon’s Williamsburg Elementary School. It’s his first year at Camp Uncommon, though he’s worked at other summer camps.
“This camp allows campers to experience more of a natural setting so they can get away from the electronics,” Noel said. “They can build bonds with each other in a more organic setting. They build bonds without using electronics.”
Noel said one of his goals is to help campers build key social-emotional skills to support their overall growth.
“This is their first time leaving and going away from home, and they are pretty far away from home, so that does bring a lot of tough feelings,” he said. “We work on being able to identify those feelings and what strategies work best for you when you are having those feelings.”
But Noel said he also focuses on having fun, too.
“With camp, I was able to get back into the camp mode and find ways to make things fun and engaging because they’re not at school,” Noel said, adding that the experience is especially rich for city kids who don’t often have the opportunity to spend time in nature.
“From the fresh air to swimming in lakes to being in nature, I feel like every city kid would definitely learn from this, and this would be a lifelong memory for them.”
To learn more about Uncommon Schools NYC click here.
