Saturday’s Eckerd cohort of more than a dozen students was led by Adonaya Joyce, a senior human development and psychology student from Philadelphia. Adonaya is taking Eckerd’s Internship in Human Development course and chose to intern at Westminster Shores.
Harrison says being part of the program made him realize that older adults are “really quite like us. I can relate to them in many different ways. I was expecting it would be very frustrating trying to help them. But they’re a lot more tech savvy than I expected.
“This class is a great way to figure out if working with an older population is a good fit for you. I found this course made me more interested in the field. And it’s a great way to practice interacting with people you’re not used to talking with every day. I was a little nervous going in. What if they’re rude or mean, or I don’t know how to explain something? But all of the residents are very sweet and understanding, and so appreciative that we’re trying our best.
Ava says she gained an appreciation for working to meet people where they are. “And asking the right questions and being clear and concise,” she adds. “I want to go into the legal profession and this will help. Learning how to explain things effectively, especially little things.” Ava spent much of her time taking notes from the session that she would later give to J.C.
“She had been talking about how much she loves YouTube, so helping her download the app was important,” Ava says. “But she was telling us about her life. Building relationships and making intergenerational interactions is part of what we try to do.”
That point was driven home by Eckerd alumna Sarah Feehan ’19. Sarah is the resident lifestyle facilitator at Westminster Shores. In 2016, she was a human development student in Shovali’s Aspects of Aging class. “The residents are constantly asking questions about technology,” Sarah explains. “The average age here is in the mid-80s, and they’re afraid of technology because they didn’t grow up with it. If they press the wrong number, they think it might break something. So the technology help by itself is a huge benefit.
“But the greater benefit is the intergenerational interaction. There are so many benefits for both sides, and it really opens your eyes to how similar we all really are. Seeing the students get to learn from the residents who really enjoy passing along their wisdom … a lot of friendships are created through these programs.