It takes a Village: Students work with retirees at Penn State-affiliated retirement community

It takes a Village: Students work with retirees at Penn State-affiliated retirement community

University Park, Pa. -- Kristie McCausland, a senior majoring in kinesiology, is instructing a fitness class at The Village at Penn State.

Her students, two older women and one man, are doing balance exercises. A number of round and rectangular disks are scattered across the floor in random patterns like lily pads floating on the surface of a pond. The round disks are squishy and flexible. The rectangular ones are hard.

She instructs her class through a series of maneuvers, across the disks -- one foot, two feet, stop, pause and turn. Repeat. Her students, intent on safely navigating the "lily pads," step carefully among the disks, weaving on wobbling ankles and throwing their arms out to balance themselves.

"She's a very good instructor," said Tom Walsh, one of McCausland's students, as he exited the room.

The fitness class is one of several taught by University interns at The Village, a retirement community with a current population of 135 people that is affiliated with Penn State. The Village at Penn State is not Penn State-owned or operated, although it is on 80 acres of land leased from the University. A nonprofit community, The Village is governed by a board of directors with University ties. Residential capacity will eventually be about 225.

About 10 students are interns there working in a number of capacities. That includes teaching fitness classes, organizing the residents' library, planning activities, helping out at the front desk and organizing the gift shop. Some interns were recruited from their University classes. Others were sought out through advertising. Each department coordinates its own interns.

"We like to promote intergenerational programming," said Amy Haagen-Evans, director of resident services. "It seems like a win-win situation to have these students volunteer at The Village. It gives them experience in their fields, plus it provides a service to the residents."

McCausland puts in about 16 hours a week teaching the balance class and an aerobics class at The Village. As a senior, she's looking for a career in a corporate fitness setting. Teaching the classes has been a positive experience, she said.

"It's helped me with my confidence a lot," she said. "I'm a really shy person. Now I'm comfortable teaching a class and getting up in front of people."

Haagen-Evans agreed. Students "walk away with relevant experience related to their major and they do form great relationships here with the residents," she said. "I love to watch the interactions -- residents are so wise and knowledgeable about basically everything. It's a joy to be around people like that."

Many of the interns are students majoring in health policy and administration or kinesiology.

Lori Gravish, a kinesiology instructor at the University as well as The Village's wellness coordinator, found several of the interns in her kinesiology classes. "As I teach my courses, when I find the most-stellar students with academic success in the classroom, I ask them to become interns."

Those students work from 16 to 24 hours a week with Gravish in The Village's fitness center. They do initial evaluations on incoming residents, orientations, emergency procedure orientations, fill out medical history evaluations, help develop individual fitness programs and take residents through the programs individually. Interns monitor signs and symptoms of stress and offer structured exercise programs three times a day in stretch, tone and core stabilization, balance and yoga. They also set up special programs. Right now they're organizing a golf tournament.

As library intern, Madelyn Hawk, a senior majoring in English, started with bare shelves and cartons of donated books last September. Along with a committee of residents, Hawk sorted the books, organized them and ordered library supplies to put together The Village's lending library. Books have been in circulation since January.

"I've learned so many things about creating a library and so many steps in the process," she said. "I didn't plan on going into library science until I was out here and saw what was involved." Hawk, who also works at Schlow Memorial Library in State College, will graduate in May. She plans to continue working in libraries and apply to a graduate school with a library science program.

The experience benefits the students in a number of ways, Gravish said. "Can they excel under pressure in real-life situations?" she asked. "I see how they handle themselves. They start off a little hesitant in some areas, but we critique work in weekly sessions and videotape the exercise sessions so that they can see what they're doing. They get a thorough understanding of what's expected in life care and how to interact with people."

For some of the young people interning at The Village, this is their first close working experience with a retirement-aged population. "They enjoy each other's company," said Jill Lillie, director of community relations. "It makes our facility a little more vibrant because of all the young college students here. It's infectious, really."

Andrea Moore is a senior in kinesiology. She's one of Gravish's interns working in the weight/fitness room. She plans to attend Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in the fall to pursue a master's degree to become a physician's assistant. "Being able to work with this population is a good thing," she said.

"I definitely learned that old people are not immobile at all," McCausland said. "They really showed me that they enjoy it here. They start singing along to the music in my aerobic class. It's really opened up my eyes to an older population."

"They've talked a lot about their personal experiences when they were my age," Hawk said. "A lot of them have different memories of being at Penn State and a lot of them were here during the war. Their experiences sort of showed me how alike we are and how different we are."

As The Village grows, more Penn State interns are expected to get life experience working with the community.

"That number will keep expanding, especially now with our health-care center opening up," said Haagen-Evans. "What's important to us is that every intern that comes to The Village at Penn State gets a quality experience."

For pictures, visit http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2004_05_06_village/index.html