Volunteer Reflection McGlynn 1

Volunteering at the Active Adult Center in the Nittany Mall was certainly an enjoyable

experience. The atmosphere in this place is very warm and welcoming, and it makes me happy

that older adults in this area have such a fun and entertaining location to spend their free time and

interact with one another. I attended the open artist studio that they offer to their participants a

few times this semester. When I was there, I helped out in the little ways I could. However, most,

if not all, of the women were able to help themselves, and often turned down my help. They have

been taking part in this weekly activity and knew the routine. So, the most help they wanted was

to set up the tables. We spent our time painting, chatting, and looking at each other’s work. Their

conversations and comments were not only interesting but very comical. It was easy to see that

they were all there to have a good time and enjoy their hobby of painting.

All of them definitely did not need my advice on painting. In fact, they would offer me

very helpful advice. For instance, I was painting a Halloween landscape on one of the days I was

there, and I learned that twisting your paintbrush and rolling it on the canvas makes excellent

tree branches. On the hand, there was also an unfortunate lesson I learned. On my first visit, not

even ten minutes into painting, the one woman had a seizure. I said hello to her when I walked in

to the room, and she did not respond and seemed confused. Then, she rushed out of the room and

had the seizure out in the lobby. Paramedics came and took her to the hospital. This left many of

her friends sad and scared, especially because she did not look good at all afterward. Thankfully,

she was there a few weeks later, looking well and painting again. I learned that moments like this

can happen at any time and at any place, especially for those at an older age.

Regardless of the first day, I found this experience to be very wholesome and helpful. All

of these women have an excellent support system, through both each other and their families.

They also have a great place to have fun and explore their passion for painting and creativity.
Volunteer Reflection McGlynn 2

Seeing that these older adults have successful aging factors in their lives has helped me see how

important and useful it is while growing older. Local governments should continue to focus on

places like the Active Adult Center, in order to have healthy and happy older citizens in their

communities.