Students learn perseverance from seniors' life stories

Friday, May. 23, 2014

SALT LAKE CITY — Once a month during this school year, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School eighth-graders sat down to talk with senior citizens from the Saint Ambrose parish community. The “Mother Theresa Project” was part of their English class; each student was tasked with writing a biography of one of the seniors.

By the end of the year, however, they had done more than hone their writing, editing and interviewing skills; they had learned life lessons and heard about growing up in a world far different from their own.

“I think the best part of doing the project was just meeting the person in general,” said eighth-grader Billy Riley. “I learned the history of my friend right here. I have to say it was a pretty interesting experience.” 

The man he interviewed had to wait four years for the woman he wanted to marry, Riley said, adding that he learned “I should always stick to something, and I should never give up. … I would probably work that hard for my wife in the future, maybe, or possibly a job that I really wanted.”

During a breakfast presentation that capped off the Mother Theresa project, “perseverance” was a common refrain as each student recounted what he or she learned from their senior friend. The students also presented the seniors with a hardbound biography.

“It brought up memories I’d forgotten about,” said Mike Keriks, who was among the seniors who participated in the project.

Sharon Keriks, who participated along with her husband, said the experience reminded her of listening to her grandmother as she grew up, and meeting with the students gave her “new faith in our future when you see these kids.”

Betsy Hunt, the school principal, said she hoped the students learned about the seniors’ hardships and accomplishments. This understanding can lead to empathy and respect, she said, as well as help the students better understand themselves and what they want to accomplish in their own lives.

The project included lessons from faculty members of the University of Utah’s Gerontology Department, “for the students to start to learn more about the mental, physical, social, psychological, financial changes that occur as we get a little bit older,” Hunt said.