KO Senior, Founder of Unique Camp for Kids with Diabetes, Wins National Grant

Kingswood Oxford’s Sophie Pennoyer ’14, founder of a unique camp for children with diabetes, has won a $500 grant from a national group that supports volunteer efforts among young adults.

Since 1996, “Do Something” has awarded a grant each week to someone age 25 or under who is effecting change in his/her community or the world. Winners are chosen based on their projects’ potential to grow and help many more lives.

“Young people possess the energy, creativity and motivation to rock the world,” said Nancy Lublin, CEO of Do Something, Inc. “The seed grants will help them do it!”

Pennoyer, an avid hiker and camper, started Diabetes Adventure Experience in 2011, spurred by her wish that her sister Nina Pennoyer ’17 -- diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 5 – could enjoy the same kind of summer camp experience that Sophie had. “My sister is every bit as adventurous as me, but her illness kept her from sharing in my opportunities for exploration,” Sophie explained.

Over eight years at a camp in New Hampshire, Sophie has hiked the Saddlebacks, the Bigalows, the Hundred-Mile Wilderness, and the White Mountains; did a 1,000-mile bike trip around Nova Scotia; and canoed Lake Umbagog and many of the rivers in Maine, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

“When Nina was finally old enough to go to my camp, it broke my heart to learn that the camp would not accept the liability of having a camper with diabetes,” said Sophie, the daughter of Dr. William and Dr. Jennifer Pennoyer of West Hartford.

“We searched for weeks and found a camp that provided the necessary constant medical supervision that would allow Nina to be active. She loved the camp, but after an incident with her blood sugar levels, she was dismissed.

“Necessity is the mother of invention, so the next summer I created Diabetes Adventure Experience Inc.,” she continued. “I wanted to prove that it was possible to take children with diabetes on camping trips while instilling in them a confidence that they should not limit their quest for adventure simply because of their condition. Children with diabetes are not defined by their illness, so they should not be limited by it.”

In July 2013, Sophie and her sister Nina, 14, and three other girls took the inaugural outing of the Diabetes Adventure Experience with a four-day trip through the White Mountains and Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Registrations are now being accepted for a similar trip in July 2014.

At KO, Sophie is an Honors student, a co-captain of the field hockey team, and plays varsity lacrosse. She is also a Senior Prefect and sings with two select choirs.

"One of Sophie's most impressive traits -- besides her maturity, drive, industriousness, and fierce sense of justice -- is her compassion and generous spirit," said Zaira Santiago, KO's Director of College Advising. "She truly embodies one of our school's core values, 'care beyond self,' and is a real role model to those around her."

“It feels amazing -- I didn’t think that this would become a reality, but I also didn’t expect it to be this much fun,” said Sophie. “I’m excited to grow even more this summer.”