Masonicare and Quinnipiac’s Students-in-Residence program, established in 2016, places undergraduate or graduate candidates in residence at the independent, assisted living and memory care community for an academic year. The students enjoy becoming a part of the community while also providing their senior neighbors with a minimum of eight hours of weekly service in their discipline. While living at Ashlar Village, the students also continue their studies at the School of Health Sciences on the North Haven Campus.

On August 15, Quinnipiac representatives joined Masonicare leaders and residents at Ashlar Village to officially welcome the program’s newest participants, Grace Miceli ’24, OTD ’26 and Leigha Scheman ’26, MSW ’28.

Both will be an integral part of the community through May 2025. In addition to helping fill a growing need for young professionals to provide compassionate care and innovative services to the country’s aging demographic, the program builds common bonds that can readily bridge generational gaps. Becoming immersed in the same community can help dispel age discrimination on both sides of the spectrum, said Quinnipiac professor of occupational therapy Marcy Sanders.

“Whether it’s older or whether it’s younger, they really have an ability to almost crack the code on how we can begin to appreciate the wisdom in each generation,” said Sanders. “While the students are here, they learn from the stories and problem-solving that older adults have used to navigate their lives. It gets aways from the technology, which has been a bit of the discord between what the generations can learn from each other. The whole intergenerational experience is lived here.”

Scheman, who moved into her private apartment at Ashlar Village on August 15, said she knew she had to apply for the opportunity as soon as she learned about the program from Quinnipiac faculty.

“Just thinking that I would be able to learn this knowledge from people that have lived experiences that can help me with my future career in social work and guide me was really exciting,” said Scheman. “I already have activities planned to do with them, and I’m excited to learn from them along the way.”

Since she first arrived in May, Miceli has been enjoying residing among her Ashlar Village neighbors and assisting them.

“I consider some of these residents my best friends,” said Miceli. “This is such a unique, amazing opportunity. In occupational therapy, we work with individuals across the life span, and working with older adults is a huge part of what we do. Helping them to better engage in everyday activities as independently as possible is exactly what I’m doing here.”

School of Health Sciences Interim Dean Jeff McCubbin said Quinnipiac enjoys a long standing, excellent partnership Masonicare which has provided opportunities for Quinnipiac School of Health Sciences students across several disciplines.

“We are happy to be part of this partnership, and we look forward to the opportunity for our students to learn a great deal from the people living here at Masonicare,” said McCubbin.

Masonicare President and Chief Executive Officer Jon-Paul Venoit welcomed Scheman and Miceli on behalf of the community.

“Since 2016, this has been so successful for our residents and the students. To see those smiles on our residents, and seeing the students have that interaction, is truly what it’s all about,” said Venoit.