Intergenerational Project Topic of May First Friday

April 8, 2019

Two professors at St. John Fisher College, Dr. Marta Rodríguez-Galán and Dr. Jonathan Millen, will offer a look at their “Bridges Across Generations” project as a part of the First Friday Lecture Series, which begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 3, in Cleary Family Auditorium.

Free and open to the public, breakfast will be provided. A Mass will precede the lecture at 9 a.m. in the Hermance Family Chapel of St. Basil the Great.

The aim of the project, funded through a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges and the AARP, is to expand and integrate two pre-existing intergenerational outreach programs that serve the needs of older adults: the Elder Experiences Project (sociology) and the Longevity Games (biology).

With grant funds, the programs are integrated into a two-semester program and offered to approximately 50 seniors residing within the low-income EMMA-Beechwood neighborhood in Rochester, New York.

The Elder Experiences Project, which emerged from a gerontology service-learning course taught by Rodríguez-Galán, involves pairing Fisher students with seniors so that they can interview them and record their life history. The Longevity Games, developed by Millen, draws from theories in the science of aging to promote healthy aging. Fisher students enrolled in Millen’s Science of Aging course partner with seniors to track physical and cognitive biomarker data to create and implement an individualized plan for improving health outcomes.

Both the Elder Experiences Project and the Longevity Games serve seniors who regularly attend programming offered at the Community Place of Greater Rochester located in EMMA-Beechwood, as well as seniors from a pre-existing service-learning partnership with Valley Manor (Episcopal Senior Life).

The Elder Experiences project took place during the fall 2018 semester and led into the Longevity Games in spring 2019, allowing the two programs to complement one another and create a stronger impact on the individuals being served.

The First Friday Lecture Series, sponsored by the 1948 Society, is designed for individuals who are interested in hearing learned perspectives on a variety of topics from members of the St. John Fisher College and greater Rochester community. Parking is available in Lot A or in Lot S (shuttle service will be provided to and from the Mass and lecture locations).