While Dartmouth’s student population may be driving down the median age here in Hanover, some students are forging relationships with older residents. Dartmouth Generations, a student-run club, helps facilitate these personal bonds by connecting Dartmouth students with elders in the Upper Valley.
According to its website, Dartmouth Generations is an organization with approximately 200 student participants, participating in programs including Reflections, an art-based therapy program; Perspectives, a monthly virtual art discussion; and Dance Connect, a monthly dance performance program. One of their most popular programs, Kendal Connections, is a monthly visit to Kendal at Hanover, a local retirement community. Typically, a small group of six or seven students will spend an hour with residents who have a level of cognitive impairment.
Vedant Tapiavala ’26, the president of Dartmouth Generations, explained that the visits involve “talking to older adults and participating in simple, fun activities.” According to Tapiavala, student volunteers and seniors alike especially enjoy when students “[throw] a balloon between us [students] and one older adult and [keep] it off the ground.”
These kinds of motor skill activities have been shown to be “helpful in slowing cognitive decline, both for people with and without cognitive impairment,” Tapiavala said, adding that future activities may include “less cognitively intense card games” or “inviting professional musicians over to play older songs.”
“There is a predominant theory seen again and again in [psychological] literature that reminiscing, talking about older moments, seeing things that you would have seen and listened to when you were younger all help with slowing cognitive decline,” he said.
According to Tapiavala, these visits engage not only the residents but also the students who learn about the seniors’ lives. Tapiavala said he enjoys hearing “very different stories from a time that [he] didn’t live through, but a time that was extremely different.”
Another member of Dartmouth Generations, Jeffrey He ’27, said the visits to Kendal “brighten [the residents’] day and your day, knowing you’re having a positive impact.”
“I’ve started to recognize a lot of the seniors, and they start to recognize me,” He said. “It’s really nice to see how happy they are.”
Erica Myers, the memory care resource coordinator at Kendal, explained that many residents have rich backgrounds with fascinating stories to tell. According to Myers, many seniors — some of whom are Dartmouth alumni —have historical connections to the Upper Valley.
Residents’ stories often breathe new life into decades of past Hanover history. Myers added that one senior often tells his stories about being a quarterback for The Big Green. Tapiavala recounted how another resident told a story about how he “hitchhiked from Hanover all the way to Chile.” A third shared stories about how he “studied the Iroquoian language,” according to He. Kendal residents enjoy having people to whom they can recount old stories, Myers added.
“Our residents are usually very well educated and have been very successful in their lives and their careers, so they really enjoy talking with students,” she said. “It’s a really amazing thing to bring them together.”
Despite his initial nervousness about communicating with a “whole crowd of seniors,” He said his nerves quickly faded upon meeting the seniors at Kendal.
“The intergenerational aspect can create a different dynamic that is initially intimidating … You have to break the silence,” He said. “Once you get to talk to [the residents] a little bit, you see that they’re really caring and here to get to know you.”
After breaking into small groups, students “talk more in depth with one or two people and definitely start to build a connection and rapport,” according to He. That environment is a welcoming and open one where conversation easily flows, He added.
Myers added she has been impressed by how connection and camaraderie grows so naturally between the residents and student volunteers, who she described as having “a genuine respect for residents.”
“It doesn’t seem to really matter that our folks have Alzheimer’s or different kinds of dementia — they’re able to really engage with the students very well,” she said.
According to Tapiavala, students’ visits “are just like spending time with anyone, really,” but in the process, Dartmouth Generations members engage with older adults while finding fulfillment in helping others.
For Myers, the underlying value in Dartmouth students’ visits is the mutual benefit to both volunteers and seniors. The residents feel they can give back to a younger generation by sharing their stories, while students offer their friendship and time to listen.
“I think it [Dartmouth Generations] makes [the residents] feel like they are able to have some purpose, give back to another younger generation and share some of their wisdom,” Myers said. “When they get into life stories and stuff like that, it’s really powerful, and it just makes everybody feel good. I think that’s the biggest impact.”
