Every other Wednesday, 22 students leave the Seabury building as part of the Senior Living Partnership Program. Heading to three different senior living establishments, these students are hard at work forging connections with older members of our community.
When asked why she joined the program, freshman Vee Asher shares, “I signed up for the Senior Living Partnership Program because I thought that it would be really interesting to learn about history through the eyes of someone who was there when it happened.”
Asher is not the only student interested in hearing the childhood stories of senior Lawrencians; freshman Aven Handshy was also called to the program by this factor. He explains, “I think it’s really interesting to talk to people [who] were your age, but they were your age a long time ago. It’s … interesting to learn about [their experiences].”
Senior Phoebe Ulbrick adds, “It makes me feel good to interact with people who might not get as much interaction. I know a lot of people who go to … elderly homes don’t see their families a lot so I thought it’d be nice to just give them some connection.”
This bonding with residents has taken many forms, from playing games to simply conversing together. Sixth grader Lucy Kneidel says that she and her resident have “talked a lot about our families [and] favorite stuff … sometimes we play cards and [other] games.”
Asher also likes playing games with her resident, saying that they “really like to play card games. And we played … Trivial Pursuit … it was fun, but it was confusing.”
Junior Neela Rangarajan comments that her resident “really wants someone to read to her, so I have been reading her a book about one of her favorite singers, Bing Crosby.” She explains that she and her resident both love reading: “Different kinds of books, of course, but for sure reading was our biggest [shared interest].”
Even when not actively doing anything, students are certainly still engaged. Many participants share that just talking with their residents is one of the most rewarding parts of the program. Sophomore Mrin Shanks expresses that she and her resident “mostly just sit and talk, or sometimes we just sit there, but that’s what I like to do personally … [we] both really love music.”
Handshy has also learned a lot about his resident’s interests, saying, “She likes country music and musical theater a lot. And cheesecake.”
Likewise, Kneidel and her resident “both like animals a lot.” Her resident “wanted to be a vet.”
Asher and her senior have also noticed their similarities. She says, “We both really like art. She has art all around her living space … We like to talk about art, and she paints, and she does pottery. And we both like to talk about our favorite artists and stuff – that’s really fun.”
Faculty member Elena Buckner, who organizes the program, explains that she hopes these fledgling relationships between students and residents will continue to grow, saying, “In my dream world, people would be getting so well connected that they would be … inviting their residents to things like Grandparents Day, or to other events at Seabury, or visiting their residents on their own time [and] just kind of building … truly authentic, outside of school … relationships. I don’t think that will happen for everyone, but I think that it would be special if [it] does [for some].”
For high school students, there is another element of the program geared toward helping these bonds grow. High schoolers are tasked to do a project with their resident to further their connection. Handshy says that for his, he is “planning on drawing a picture of something and having [his resident] color it.”
Asher and her resident are planning to “make a poster board about [her senior’s] life. [It was] just something she was interested in.”
Buckner explains that these projects have a very important role: “I think it’s really good for high school students to be forced to think through how they can tangibly express a connection with another person,” she says.
Within these many fun activities, students share that they have also learned from their residents. Shanks explains that her resident has taught her “that it’s good to just believe in what I believe in, and to follow who I really want to be and do what I want to do instead of letting someone else decide that for me.”
Ulbrick recommends the program to others, sharing, “Not only is it a great opportunity to [help residents] meet younger people, but it’s also a great opportunity for you to [serve] your community, and you have a good feeling afterwards.”
Buckner also says that the program has gone “better than I anticipated. A lot of the students and the senior residents have been really good matches. We’ve gotten really good feedback from both sides of the equations, and it seems like people are enjoying it.” Seabury’s Senior Living Partnership Program looks more than ready to continue forward with success!
