Messina Family – Camp Nokomis
For the Messina family, Camp Nokomis isn’t just a summer tradition—it’s a thread that has woven together three generations. “Nokomis has always been part of the plan,” said Francesca Anne Messina, whose daughter Enza is now carrying forward the family legacy. “From the moment I found out I was having a girl, I knew she’d spend her summers on Lake Winnipesaukee.”
Francesca’s connection to the island runs deep. Her mother attended Camp Nokomis, and Francesca and her sisters spent their early 2000s summers exploring the same rocky paths, singing the same camp songs and watching sunrises over the same stretch of lake that Enza now loves.
“I would tell Enza stories of how I would listen to music in my cabin on my Walkman – blasting the music so loud the whole cabin could hear it through my headphones,” Francesca said.
In 2019 Francesca reached out to the Y to find out how early she could register her daughter. “They must have thought I was crazy,” she joked. Today, Enza is in her fourth summer at Nokomis, proudly calling herself a “Nokomis girl,” just like her grandmother, aunts and mom.
What Enza talks about most, though, are her counselors. “She never stops,” Francesca shared. “These young women are her role models. They read Harry Potter to her every night, cheer her name from the dock, and make her feel seen and supported.” Back at school, Enza wrote her first assignment of the year about her Unit Head, Sophie—remembering ping pong games and blackberry picking.
At Nokomis, Enza is learning independence, creativity, and confidence. She loves woodworking—her very first project, a Harry Potter table, now sits proudly in the family’s Brooklyn living room. She’s still working toward her lake award and, as she’ll proudly tell you, she plans to try again in 2026.
For Francesca, Nokomis is “the safest place for her to learn who she is.” Between the screen-free environment, strong female leadership and deep sense of belonging, camp offers something rare: a space where girls can grow, unplug and build lifelong connections.
Francesca sees Enza’s growth in her confidents and functioning – Camp Nokomis teaches her responsibility and independence as Enza learns to take care of herself, support her cabin mates, and chooses how to use her free time.
“There’s no place on earth like Nokomis,” Francesca said. “Seeing the smile on Enza’s face when she steps off the Bear and walks toward me after weeks away is the most amazing feeling. Not just because I’ve missed her, but because I’m so proud of the confident young woman she’s becoming through her time at camp.
