College Living Isn't Just for Students

“We have the opportunity to change the story about aging from one of loss to one of living,” says Anne Doyle, president of Lasell Village. “Connecting across generations is a game changer. It breaks down stereotypes. It brings a lot of fun into life.

Always learning and growing

Wandering around the college campus, with its green quads and tree-lined streets, visitors might not realize a village of older adults is part of the footprint. Although it has a nursing facility and other amenities designed for residents’ needs, the village is integrated into the campus, and its buildings look just like the nearby dorms. Murstein says she loves being a quick walk from the campus’ central library, where she goes regularly to check out books for classes or for pleasure reading.

Just as college students avoid early morning classes, Lasell Village residents like to sleep in — Doyle says the village stopped scheduling early morning classes because the residents stay up late socializing and studying. Throughout the day, residents are in and out of classes, either in the halls of the university or in the village itself. Some of the classes in the village are intergenerational; others are tailored to village residents.

Murstein, who spent her career as a professor of French and Italian literature at Connecticut College, has taken a wide variety of courses since she and her husband moved to Lasell Village in 2014. She has studied genetics, evolution, social movements and the Bible.

Her late husband, Bernard, who retired after a career as a psychology professor at Connecticut College, was an active student learner at Lasell even as he battled Parkinson’s and heart disease.

Two days before his death last year, Nelly says, Bernard attended an online class on Chaucer, and he was an active contributor to class conversations. He also was editing an article he co-wrote with one of their three daughters.

The requirement that residents participate in classes and other activities “is part of the glue that brings people together,” Doyle says. “Everyone realizes that curiosity creates a community that is caring and very lively.”

Doyle says the village staff will waive the requirement for residents who are unable to meet the learning requirement for health reasons. 

Staying active on campus

Residents can choose from lots of extracurricular activities — everything from fitness classes to ukulele club — but the intergenerational experiences may offer the most unusual opportunities.

In addition to connecting with students in classes, the village is the largest employer of university students, Doyle says, providing jobs in the dining room and at the pool as lifeguards. It also offers internships in marketing, and in nursing at the long-term care facility.

For the students, the internships are more than just résumé boosters. They learn from people with life experience who can offer career advice or share anecdotes that make class content come alive, says Kelvyn Perez, who is assistant manager of dining services at the village and a junior majoring in international business.

“They give me advice that pushes me,” Perez says. “It’s not something you’ll find in a textbook.”

The key to fulfilling the promise of being an age-friendly university is providing opportunities for the generations to interact daily and in informal ways, says Skye Leedahl, an associate professor of aging and health at the University of Rhode Island.

When those connections happen “on a consistent basis,” they lead to better physical and mental health as well as cognitive functioning for the aging population, Leedahl says. They also counteract the social isolation common for aging people, especially those in nursing homes.

For Murstein that means a continuation of learning, new interactions and a feeling of support among residents. On a busy day, after doing an interview for this story, Murstein rushed off to an exercise class to improve her balance. By the end of the day, she would be at a dinner table with neighbors, sharing stories about all she had done and learned since she woke up that morning.

David J. Hoff is a contributing writer who covers family life, health and education stories for national publications. A former reporter and editor for Education Week, his work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Washington City Paper and other publications.