Many have heard the term “respect your elders.” The Bobcats involved with the Aging and Gerontological Education Society do just that.
Through advocating for student interaction with older generations and assisting in receiving gerontology certificates, AGES aims to reshape the societal norms of how younger people are expected to spend their time. By learning from one another, regardless of the age gap, AGES brings people together and allows students to take a path toward their future.
After a short break related to COVID-19, AGES has grown in the past three years.
Julie Brown, who holds a doctorate in gerontology, is an associate professor at Ohio University and has served as the AGES advisor for over 10 years.
Brown encourages students of all majors to gain an understanding of how to engage with the elderly.
“The older adult population is the fastest-growing population,” Brown said. “Every major that you can think of, I can tell you who it’s going to be influencing or how you’re going to engage with older persons.”
Brown described the importance of understanding that while many older people live in nursing homes, most are in their community, interacting with younger generations constantly.
“They’re still working, or they’re still involved,” Brown said.
Gabby Cametti, a senior studying human development and family science and minoring in health service administration, serves as the president of AGES.
Cametti said that AGES comprises various majors and goals, but all share a passion for supporting the older adult population.
Magdalene Schlicher, a senior studying human development and family science as well as psychology, is the secretary of AGES.
Cametti and Schlicher are both pursuing gerontology certificates and share how great the organization is for everyone.
“It's a great organization for students with all academic backgrounds to kind of convene on the same topic of aging and aging services and that kind of thing,” Cametti said. “I think it’s a very diverse group and that makes it pretty cool.”
AGES participates in both community events and social events. This month, it will participate in the Athens Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The walk will take place on Sept. 26, beginning at the Community Center, located at 701 E. State St.
“It just connects perfectly into our values as an organization,” Cametti said.
Schlicher said that many of the organizations AGES has partnered with have been through members’ connections within the area.
Brown said that through partnerships with local nursing homes, AGES has held various events, including card making and pottery painting to give to residents.
Students getting a certificate in gerontology get paired with an older adult to mentor. AGES hosts an annual pancake dinner for mentors and mentees to mingle with the organization.
Schiller said mentors range from age 65 and up.
“It’s really beautiful seeing such a huge demographic of ages joining together,” she said. “There’s no cap on how old you are either.”
Students involved are offered many additional opportunities through the Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education.
Cametti was selected with a small group of students from across Ohio to be a “scholar in aging” for the Department of Aging. Through this, she conducted research related to her interest and presented at the conference.
Likewise, Schiller attended an international conference in Atlanta with Brown last year, participating in aging research.
The OAGE’s annual conference will be at OU next spring. Interested students are encouraged to attend AGES meetings to prepare presentations for the conference.
In addition to OAGE and other conference opportunities, AGES was recently approved to be the Alpha chapter for Sigma Phi Omega, the honorary gerontology society.
To be a part of the society, students are required to hold a certain GPA and complete various gerontology courses.
“I’m really proud of our organization," Brown said. “Students involved in AGES also have the opportunity to be in Sigma Phi Omega and get graduation cords and pins, all that good stuff, and be recognized as a SPO student.”
Schiller described that AGES values a strong sense of community through its outreach activities as well as social events.
“We try to do things that pertain to gerontology and aging, but at the same time, kind of finding a way to relate with each other because we do come from such different backgrounds in terms of majors and whatnot,” she said.
Students interested in participating can, at no cost, attend AGES’ bi-weekly Thursday meetings at 6 p.m. Meeting information is posted on the AGES Instagram.
“We are future older adults, instead of thinking of them as this older crowd,” Brown said. “Why not study you, in a way, your future you,” Brown said.
