On May 28, the Belmont Village Senior Living La Jolla facility, located at 3880 Nobel Drive, was awash with dancing, music, refreshments, and picturesque moments as students from La Jolla Country Day School (LJCDS) joined senior residents for an intergenerational prom.
The event, which was organized by students and held in one of Belmont’s gathering rooms, was an opportunity for the latter to share their rich backgrounds with students — specifically passing on their life stories and wisdom, said Paula Lemkuil, Belmont’s Director of business Development.
Lemkuil additionally stated that students were in charge of decorating and brought in their musicians and performers. Doing so gave students “a way to work on leadership skills. They’re very involved and in charge, they’ve taken the lead on this.”
Students who helped set up the event were involved with LJCDS’ service-learning program, according to Christina Zupanc, LJCDS coordinator for service learning and community mingagement.
“With all the service that we do, it’s not just that we’re serving those communities but also the benefit that our students have as well,” Zupanc said. “Specifically for this [event], it’s involved working together with our community and fostering a sense of belonging on both sides. [Students] build a lot of leadership skills at these events.”
LJCDS sophomore Sua Namkung was part of the main group organizing the senior prom. Namkung helped brainstorm themes and collaborated with others for potential event activities.
“I loved the idea of creating an opportunity for the seniors to enjoy themselves and have a fun time at a dance and reminisce [about] their past.”
When discussing the significance of changemaking, Namkung further stated “It is important to make a change for the better and provide more opportunities to everyone in society to make life more joyful.”
A prom king and queen were also crowned during the dance: Belmont residents Ron and Karen H., who received their respective sparkling crowns and sashes.
Before the dance, resident Marilyn R. said that she was “excited to spend time with the students.” Resident Marvin B. shared that he has “always enjoy[ed] the energy of being around younger people — it makes me feel young again too.”
“It’s just a celebration of community and connection,” Zupanc said.
