Students in this semester’s management of aging services first year seminar have been working with seniors who are part of the LGBTQ community to create digital stories about their lives. The class partnered with the Chase Brexton LGBT Health Resource Center and groups of students have been working with seven seniors over the course of the semester.

The completed stories are scheduled to be screened at an event at UMBC on Tuesday, May 3, and they are also expected to be shown at Pride and other events around Baltimore later this year. Students in the class worked with the seniors to gather audio interviews, photos, videos, and other material to produce digital biographies as the seniors reflected on their lives.

Saurabh Saini ’19, computer science, Dorjan Leka ’19, biology, and Hong Kun ’19, computer engineering, worked with Breezy Bishop, who had a distinguished career coaching women’s basketball at Western High School in Baltimore, and has since started a college scholarship fund for students who may not have the financial means to go to college.

The students learned about the various people who influenced her and some of the challenges and discrimination she faced throughout her life.

“Throughout this experience, I’ve learned how to look at things from a different perspective,” says Leka. “Breezy’s story inspires us to work hard in everything that we do.”

“In this class, you’re not dealing with textbooks,” explains Saini. “You’re dealing with life stories, and that’s powerful.”

The seven digital stories will be screened at an event in Sherman 145 at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3. This semester’s course is taught by Erickson School Undergraduate Program Director Galina Madjaroff. In past years, the class has partnered with the Arbutus Senior Center and Charlestown.

Image: Saurabh Saini ’19, computer science, Dorjan Leka ’19, biology, and Hong Kun ’19, computer engineering, work on their digital storytelling project.