Two Quinnipiac students are spending their year off-campus at an assisted living facility to gain some real-world experience during their studies.
Quinnipiac students Joe Huberman and Victoria Kozar are both looking to start a profession in senior care after graduation. So they’re getting an early start by spending the year living at Wallingford’s Masonicare at Ashler Village, an assisted living village.
"I think it's age cohort that we have a lot to learn from and I think I have as much to learn from them as I can hopefully give to them," Huberman said.
Both students beat out 17 other applicants looking to ditch the dorm room for an apartment at the village and a job caring for more than 100 residents.
"Moving forward how to treat patients, knowing from this side living among them I feel I can get a lot being a provider in this setting," Kozar said.
Resident Howard Luppi graduated from Quinnipiac and loves the idea of having students in residence.
"You're dealing with people that are basically all over 60, 70, 80, 90 and these are young people, and when they merged together a lot of it is going to come out of it that's going to be good," Luppi said.
Local
To earn credit the students will have to work eight hours a week and commute to campus for their other courses. While most campus courses are done with a pen and paper, these lessons will be measured in care.
"I want to give them my heart my all,” Kozar said. “I was telling them I'm going to have office hours I'm ready to get the cookies out, I have a lot of life experience they have way more than me I hope to give what I have."
