Lafayette Journal and Courier

Purdue grad students find much to learn when living at Westminster
By Kevin Cullen

Lots of Purdue University students live in and near "The Village," that area near campus known for bars, bookstores, pizzas and merrymaking.

But Purdue graduate students Karis Pallone, 24, and Markus Schafer, 22, have opted to spend the next year living in a different kind of village: Westminster Village, a retirement center on North Salisbury Street.

"There was an adjustment," says Schafer, a master's student from Mullica Hill, N.J. "When you come in around 8 p.m., no one is around. In college, things are still going strong at 12:30 and 1 a.m. There's definitely a slower pace."

But, "I like the quietness," he says. "It's not hard to study here. You don't have to worry about a frat party next door."

He and Pallone moved into their separate rooms in July. They already know many of the 250 residents by name; the oldest is 106 years old.

Both students are involved in Purdue's gerontology program and will spend the next year interacting with Westminster residents and learning, first-hand, about the issues that face the elderly.

"I love the reaction I get when I say, 'Hey, I live in a retirement village,'" says Pallone, a first-year doctoral student from Baltimore. "There's a story a day and a laugh every day."

She lived with her family throughout college, so being among older people again feels normal, she says.

"It was an easy adjustment. People put me so at ease," she says.

"They come to us, and we do give advice," says Martha Graham, a 91-year-old Westminster resident.

"I think it's wonderful to have young folks here," says her friend, Carolyn Risk, 93. "They're so enthusiastic. People almost fight to eat with them."

Maxine Wilson, 84, says the students are "so energetic and full of life. We love to have them around. They are so interested in talking to residents, eating with us and asking us about our lives."

Many students and professors who study age-related issues are quite young, says Gerry C. Hyner, professor of health and kinesiology and coordinator of Purdue's gerontology program.

The "living-learning arrangement" at Westminster, he says, is a rare opportunity. He credits Joe Boorman, Westminster's executive director, with proposing the idea and making rooms available.

Boorman is a former member of the steering committee of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue.

"Markus and Karis have proven already to be very popular with our residents," Boorman says. " ... This would not work with most students, but it works very well with a student who really wants to study and learn first-hand what the aging process is all about."

Pallone and Schafer say that Westminster is a happy place. Residents talk, swap jokes, dance, play Scrabble, exercise and socialize. Many are keenly interested in wellness and health.

"I was most surprised at the activity level of residents," Pallone says. "It is inspiring to me ... age, in a lot of ways, is just a number."

But age brings sadness and loss, too. Some widows attend dances simply to watch others couples dance, to hear old songs again, and remember.

"Some say how hard it is to miss your husband," Pallone say.

The program began in 2003 with one grad student who stayed two years. Pallone and Schafer interviewed with Boorman and were accepted. They pay a reduced rate and must eat at least five meals a week with residents, participate in weekly activities and serve on a planning committee.

They share information about health care, diet and exercise that they learn in their classes.

They also will research issues that come up in conversations and conduct surveys and studies. They will share their findings with their classmates.

"One student told me that living with the residents was like being in a graduate class," Hyner says. "Students and residents become friends, teachers and students."

Hyner hopes that other facilities make living units available to qualified graduate students.
It seems natural that Westminster should lead the way. Many of its residents are retired Purdue faculty, eager to know and help students, and stay connected.

"We have a great relationship with one of the best research universities in the nation," Boorman says, "and we have a resident population that takes a real interest in academics and is more willing to try out different things than are most older people."

The students add vitality to the Village, he says, and residents "take an interest in the students' lives, in their studies, and in their futures. They get to know the families and friends."

"Meals are fun" at Westminster, Schafer says, because of the engaging conversations that develop.

Still, they took some getting used to.

As a typical college student, he was used to fast food and snacks, consumed in front of a TV set.

"Here, you have salad and soup with your meal, then dessert. You see the generational lines. You take an hour eating," he says. "Dining is a big deal for people."

"I had to remember where to put the napkin," Pallone says.

But, she says, dining with new friends -- especially those with 80 or 90 years of life to talk about -- "is the highlight of my day."