Humans of Montclair

On this week’s episode, I talked to Juniper who is now sixteen years-old years and a junior in high school. The two of us reflected on her debut album and the silver linings that were brought to the entire processold and of "Juniper" from the first wave of the pandemic, the creative endeavors that both Juniper and her father dealt with while making the album, Juniper’s influences, as well as some new work on the way.

On this weeks episode, I sat down with Advisor Ed Carine and Staff Member and Montclair High School Senior Tyler Grisafi of Terry’s Serendipity Café. Serendipity Café was established in Montclair two decades prior after a shooting in the Montclair Post Office where four people were killed in a robbery. The incident left citizens distraught, parents were scared to let their kids out after dark. Serendipity Café emerged as a safe space for young people under the age of 21 to play music, showcase their talents, along with various other artistic endeavors. Today, Serendipity Café is known around town as a place that nurtures Montclair students’ art. People around our town stop by once a month, and see Serendipity members play great music.

In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Lana Mustafa and Maia Mitchell of the Montclair Community Farms.

Together, we discussed the history of Montclair Community Farms, what being an urban farm is all about (especially in the Garden State!), the incredible programs that MCF has to offer, MCF's response to COVID-19, and their end of year fundraiser! Listen to episode three on our website, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Anna interviews Aaron and Matt of First Serve Tennis, the Montclair residents created their Montclair, NJ based tennis academy more than a year ago. During this time they’ve become one of the most loved and successful tennis clinics in the area. Anna, Matt, and Aaron discuss everything First Serve, The high school and college tennis experience, and their latest charity event, a racket drive called “Rackets for Africa” running from now until November 5th.

On our first episode, Humans of Montclair interviewed rising senior Anaya Fleming-Thomas and rising sophomore Sam Safirstein. They are Chief Partners of the Montclair Students Firm. Safirstein describes MSF as, “A club that takes issues prioritized and creates projects to solve them, then presents their solutions back to the student body and administration”. The two discuss MSF’s contributions, accomplishments and their goals for what will be Fleming-Thomas’s last year at Montclair High School. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Google Classroom: 2jihvt6 Instagram: @mtcstudentsfirm