I firmly believe the Love, Connect, Care event at the West Center will go down as one of my favorite experiences ever. I found exactly what had been missing from all of the classes I’ve taken so far at UCSD: a sense of action and real purpose. In planning for the event, I was uncertain at how it would be received and if elders in the community would want to participate because of everything that COVID has affected. As a result, I think somewhere down the line I became uncertain at what small interventions could actually do. In just one day, my hope was restored and I reevaluated my own attitude toward social change. During the event, I had the pleasure of chatting with one of the attendees and after joking around about the photobooth a little, he expressed his gratitude for the event and began to tear up. I was so surprised and thankful - thankful to him for sharing that moment with me and thankful to be part of the Life Course Scholars program. Being able to document the event as well with my camera was really special because I was able to capture some incredible things: some of the elders absolutely dominating at Jeopardy and the ring toss games, the excitement with the raffle prizes, and many people returning to the photobooth again and again. I really truly learned so much from that day and from the vibrant, funny, and lovely people that came by.
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Mariyah ShadMariyah Shad is a Global Health major with a minor in Business and Anthropology. She is from Carlsbad, Archives
March 2022
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