Student in Residence: Natalie's Blog Entry 12
Posted on March 25, 2019 in Student in Residence
Hello fellow residents!
Hard to believe it is almost April, it feels like I just moved in! I’m greatly looking forward to the beautiful weather and opportunity to spend more time outside. Nature is such a gift to us and brings about the chance to experience life more peacefully. Spring also brings about the notion of new life – flowers blooming, trees growing, and a renewed pleasure of what life offers us. For me, this idea of understanding and being thankful for opportunities life has given me has become ever clear, as my time here at OLWT is rapidly coming to a close.
One of these opportunities I have been given was to attend the LeadingAge Conference, held in Washington D.C. I attended the conference with a fellow friend and advocate of older adults. We were welcomed into a community of people that are passionate about older adults and truly care for their needs and wants! We spent the day on Capital Hill, talking with five different staffers of various Ohio Representatives and Senators. It was truly powerful to be surrounded by others who care about the needs of older adults, particularly those older adults who are homeless. I feel honored to have taken part in this experience, particularly because I love older adults (and all of you) so much.
I also want to speak about an awesome experience with WOSU! Two weeks ago, WOSU came to interview not only me, but also Leslie Belfance, Tina Butler, Marge Galloway, and Emily Long (the next student-in-residence here at OLWT) about the idea of intergenerational living and how that has been integrated by this student-in-residence program. Although completely nerve wracking, it was so cool to have the opportunity to talk about how greatly my life has been impacted by living here! They are doing a three part episode that will focus on unique living situations here in Columbus and will air sometime near the end of April. More details to come on that!
This is our next student-in-residence, Emily Long!
Finally, I want to relay my tentative plans for the next two months that I will be here. As the semester is coming to a close, assignments, tests, and the due date for my thesis is quickly approaching, so I apologize if I am not as readily available. There are only FIVE Porch Stories left before it is done for the year. If you haven’t attended, please do! I would love to meet and talk with you about your life. Because of traveling for two weeks at the end of May, I am planning to move out near the beginning of May unfortunately. It will be most likely be the week of May 13th-16th. May 17th-31st I am taking some time to travel with friends and family. Lastly, I want to relay the information that I may be writing a short collection of unique experiences I have had by living here. I am planning to work on that over the summer and having it available in the library for you all. A little gift to the community that has given me so much.
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leading age conference, wosu