Acrylic paintings, drawings and multimedia pieces adorn the walls of the Gregory School Performing Arts Center lobby. Each piece was created by a high school student and reflected the artist’s interpretation of an elder from TMC for Seniors. The room buzzed with excitement as the seniors found their portraits and reunited with the students.

Portrait Reflections is a collaboration between TMC for Seniors and Gregory School where students are paired with seniors to get to know them and create their portraits. Students get three weeks to complete the project and then an art show is held so the subjects can view their portraits. After the show, the seniors get to keep their portraits. It is part of TMC for Seniors’ intergenerational programming and serves as community outreach projects for students in the National Honors Society at Gregory School.

“As people age, they often feel more isolated and don’t have as many connections as they once did,” said Maya Luria, director of Community Partnerships and Outreach, TMC Health. “Providing intergenerational programming helps bridge that gap for the seniors and provides the high school students with opportunities to forge relationships with older adults that they likely never would have met.”

Leon Filer, a senior participant, looked at his painting by Manuela Straub Martinez, a 12th grade student.

“This is great, great, great!” he said. “She’s such a talent. I’m proud of her.”

Manuela has participated in the project since she was a freshman at the school and has developed a close relationship with her previous subject of two years, Maureen Bike.

“I like the connections I get to make,” Manuela said. “I don’t paint a lot of older people, so this is really special.”

“I’ve done this twice with Manuela. This year she painted my friend,” Maureen said. “We’ve become very close. We meet for lunch. She invited me to her graduation. We give one another intergenerational support. I’m really happy I met her. She gives me hope for the future.”

This year, Maureen’s portrait was drawn by Catherine Mendrzycki, an 11th grade student. She said this was a fun challenge for her since she doesn’t normally do portraits.

“I like working with the seniors,” Catherine said. “I love hearing their stories and hearing their advice. I learned that Maureen and I both grew up in New Jersey. We have a lot in common.”

“This is always an incredibly positive experience,” said Christie Carlson, studio art teacher at the Gregory School. “I always hear how surprisingly well students connect with these projects. It’s great to see the cross-generational bonds that form because it’s not a relationship that would happen otherwise.”

Avery Johnson, a 12th grade student, said she enjoys this project because she gets to work with people who have had so much more life experience than her.

“You look at someone and you don’t see the struggles they’ve been through, you just see that they’re here,” Avery said. “Growing old is a gift. The point of this is to see the beauty in getting old.”

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