Students of the School of Communication connect generations

A total of 50 first-year students, from the Journalism and Audiovisual Communication Degrees , have taken part in a project of volunteer activities that combines learning and social service. In the framework of the subject Oral and Written Communication, the students visited six residences in Pamplona to interview elderly people and capture their life stories in written accounts.

It is an initiative that seeks to respond, through teaching, to the circumstances of six residences in Pamplona. "The idea came up thanks to Eva Lus, a professor at School of Communication. She told us about the Solidarity Professionals program with which Tantaka collaborates," explains Beatriz Gómez, senior lecturer at subject."Milagros Quintero and Cristina Jiménez, from Profesionales Solidarios, wanted to write the life stories of elderly people in nursing homes and we thought this fit perfectly with what we wanted the first-year students to learn." 

Since the pandemic, the residences have sought to implement more extensive files on the residents, detailing their tastes and memories of their lives. "They conveyed to us that these life stories had to be captured in some way and we saw that it could be very enriching in both senses," Professor Gómez continues. "The students, while getting close to the elders and spending time with them, learned to connect better with the people they interviewed and to transmit in writing what they had told them. 

Before starting, Milagros gave a preliminary training to the 50 students who signed up, as both they and the professors of the subject stated that this activity subject required previous preparation. In addition, they were given a series of questions model so that they could face the interviews with more confidence. 

Practical and human learning

"When we arrived at residency program, we contacted the center's psychologist. We were very clear that the elderly had their routine and we had to interrupt them as little as possible," says Lucía Gastón, manager of the subject and who accompanied the students during the interviews.

"The process required not only technical skills, but also a sensitivity to connect with people and reflect their stories in an authentic way. We made the students feel like journalism professionals from the very first moment, as they were committed to project because they knew they were doing a real work ," continues the professor. 

Of the encounters between students and residents, both teachers emphasize the respect, affection and desire to do well that the students showed. "They were dealing with a person who was giving them his time. In addition, they felt like professionals because they were doing a real work ," says Lucía. 

"Our students have surprised us a lot for the better," Beatriz adds. Although for several of them this was the third time they had written something, since they had only been at class for a month and had three internships, "it turns out that this has been the internship in which they have been most involved". 

The project will end with the edition of a book that will compile all the stories of the people of the residency program. "Despite the fact that for the teachers it has meant more work, because we have corrected and edited the practices, what has surprised us most is that many students have wanted to return. And this leaves the door open to continue with this internship subject but with other vulnerable groups", concludes Beatriz.