Many people wonder what is going on near the top of door six, in room 2-129. This is the location for the Sanneh Foundation’s place for in-class support, homework help, and mentoring that’s tailored to your needs. These mentors, Robert Pennington and Nahla Bakry, offer many services that help students succeed academically and in life.

The Sanneh Foundation was started by Tony Sanneh, a professional soccer player, who wanted to keep students on track while also infusing his love for soccer. This organization makes it their passion to work with students who are being left behind by their current curriculum. However, they don’t just focus on school, the Sanneh Foundation mentors also provide free soccer camps and basketball camps to those in the community. They also give students an opportunity to go to a stadium to watch a football game as a reward for working hard and improving their grades.

The Sanneh Foundation at Mayo High School is run by two staff members named Nahla Bakry and Robert Pennington who plan to help academically, but also would like to start up some extracurriculars in the future such as a culture club and a group focused on personal training. Robert mentioned, “It’s not just about the grades, academically; we’re also going to support [students], emotionally. You know if they’ve just had a bad day and need to vent and tell us about how bad their day was, you can just come in here and get it all off your chest.” While there are specific students involved in the Dreamline program, a branch of the Sanneh Foundation, Nahla Bakry stressed that, “Our door is always open for everyone, not just our focus list, and we are always going to be supporting them and helping them, no matter what.” They are both very passionate about helping others and tailoring their mentoring to whatever the student may need, whether it’s extra help on math homework, or a safe space talk. These faculty members do not give up and will continue to try to connect with others in the face of adversity, Nahla Bakry mentioned that, “I have some students who are resisting, but I’m not ready to give up on them, I’m going to go everyday [to in class support] and try.”

The Sanneh Foundation offer an open-door homework help to any students that need it from 7-7:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Nahla Bakry mentioned that,“It’s not going to be boring. We try as much as we can to make it fun.” So whether you need a little extra homework help, a safe place to talk, or a supportive environment, the Sanneh Foundation is here for you!