Life Stories Service Project

By Amanda Cooper

"Its your turn," said Lester Irvin. Clifford Morgan placed another domino on the pile. Lester, who is 101, and Clifford, 77, are just a few of the elderly residents who told their life stories to the freshman class this September.

This was all part of the century-old tradition of Bethel Colleges' service project.

In the past the students would scout around to different locations cleaning bookshelves, washing windows, painting walls or pulling weeds, with the intention of letting students help their community.

But Marla Krell, director of career development and placement, asked, "who were we helping?" Students weren't connecting with the community or the people inside it. The chores they were doing weren't benefiting enough.

Then "life interviews" were brought into the picture.

It started out with a few students participating, helping nursing home residents use their stories as presents to their grandchildren. But the faculty found this much more meaningful. The goal is to teach students that connecting with others in your community is very valuable.

A project such as this is very difficult and can have positive and negative affects on the person doing the interviewing. It can be an emotional experience.

"This wasn't that hard for me because I've had experience in care homes and the person I interviewed was very talkative," said Jenny Kellogg, Valley Center, Kan. "Sharing what these students shared can also be very rewarding and fulfilling."

The project went well except for minor setbacks. Some of the patients were not prepared for the students to arrive. Others were unresponsive. Some of the freshman who were interviewing had a hard time conversing with the residents. Nonetheless, students learned a lot about the way life used to be and many of them had wonderful experiences.

" I enjoyed the time I spent with Clifford and Lester and I got to play one of my favorite games, dominos," said Kevin Starr, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The time was well spent and the students were able to give back to their community.