Intergenerational Web Project

Overview
mentoring network production day 17 This program provided rich intergenerational experiences, career mentoring and internship opportunities for at-risk high school students in southeastern Michigan. Students chose their adult partners, interviewed them and designed their web profiles, exercising creative control from concept to final product. The Mentoring Network web site included a large, searchable database of local mentors, Day at Work features, career FAQ pages and a secure mentor-mentee email correspondence environment.

Intergenerational Project Production Sessions
The Mentoring Network database was created by over 100 students from area high schools, teen centers and at-risk programs and grew to include about 200 web profiles. The students participated in semester-long production sessions held in media labs throughout Washtenaw and Livingston counties. Interns from University of Michigan's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program coached our high school students as they developed content for the database.

Mentoring Network day 8

Skills Learned
Students interviewed mentors, documenting seniors' personal histories, life lessons and timelines, digitally restored their personal photos, researched younger adults' careers, created mentors' Web profiles and produced their own web sites and on-line resumes. Student participants learned web and video production, interview skills, writing and storyboarding, photography, photo restoration, digital animation, voice over techniques and computer graphics.

Web Sites produced by student participants	Image Content digital arts created during production sessions
Bill (mentor) How Bill felt about working as a janitor for 14 years even though he had a good education: Bill says he didn't mind at all. He feels that being a janitor puts you right in the middle of the school system... He was treated with much respect. Bill also said that he got real professional at cleaning toilets. "Now I employ my skills at home." more Lena (mentor) How teen life wasn't better back in the 40s: "Back then things were so hush hush...I was very naive at 18. I didn't known anything. I didn't know anything about sex...didn't know much about anything except my closeness at home and going to school." more Colin (mentor) Advice to someone younger: "Do everything you can to keep your health because no amount of money will bring it back...I think young people should love change because change is the one constant that we have. Never stop learning." more Dorothy (mentor) Being the first black woman to manage an Arby's: "It felt great, really. I had a lot of respect from my peers, both the white and black guys who worked there. Everybody would go into these management meetings and most of the time I was the only woman in there but I still got respect from everybody." more	Poster to publicize project in high schools
Tony (mentor) The best one can expect out of life:"To be content with your llife you must learn that the happiest moments are those that are shared. I feel that way about life. I don't think I realized this as much when I was a teen. Belief in God:"I've never been a church member but I do believe in God and I do go to church occassionally but most the time I'd rather go fishin or huntin." How Tony copes with loss of legs:"I have no qualms about it. I do about everything anybody else does except I don't run any foot races. I had a lot of help from my family during that time." more	Tony's Timeline
Nik (mentee) Reflecting on his mentor's life: "Fred's childhood is nothing like mine at all. I had it easy- not that my parents were rich, but all I ever did was have fun. Then later I started reading and I guess that had something to do with the way I turned out. Fred's childhood was almost opposite. I would like to get out and see the world but I've never done hard farm work. I'm kind of a slacker." more	Fred and Nik
Quotes about Life These are quotes from senior and teen participants in our Fall 1999 pogram in Livingston County, Michigan. This was one of the several semester-long intergenerational projects that paired at-risk high school students with senior mentors from their community. Students chose senior partners, interviewed them and created their web profiles then created their own. Living Well Looking Back Good Choices Regrettable Decisions Lessons from Painful Experiences Big Questions About Life Philosophy of Life The Next Life