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Amy's Story Amy shares about moving from NYC to Philadelphia as a young girl. During this time, she learned some of the hard lessons about hatred and what it means to stand out. She also learned that some of her closets friends are the ones who have the most differences between them. Scroll to listen Amy's Story 00:00 / 03:46 ​

Kelly's Story Kelly talks with Jesse about her evolving family dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scroll to Listen Kelly's Story 00:00 / 04:10 When COVID first started, it was my sophomore year of college. I was living on campus at UMass. I remember specifically when I found out that it was going to be like a real issue. It was when Tom Hanks got COVID. It was a joke in my family that that was the first time I actually got a little nervous. I was supposed to go on the UMass Habitat for Humanity trip to Georgia, but they obviously ended up having to cancel it. I have two older brothers Kevin and Timmy. My brother Kevin right now is 27. And my brother Timmy, or Tim, is 25. And I'm 21. My brother wasn't living with us initially, he was living on his own, but obviously COVID isolated a lot of people. He didn't want to be alone like that, especially since we didn't know how long it was going to be. So, he actually moved back home with us. It was the first time in quite a few years that I had a full house. It was weird at first, I think, obviously, I had to do online school. And my mom was working from home. My dad's an electrician, so he wasn't even working. My dad's a funny guy. He loves attention. And he hates being bored. So he was bothering my brothers who were working remotely too. So it was just a cluster of us on our laptops for a little bit. But I think it was really great overall, looking back at it, especially at that time, it was nice to kind of get my family all back together for a few months. I feel like not a lot of people have that opportunity. So it was kind of nice. I learned a lot about my own study habits, work ethic, and stuff like that. In terms of online classes, I feel like it was a hit or miss. Some professors were really good at keeping us engaged. We had more than a year online, because we left the second semester two years ago. So it's like I forgot what it's like to actually be in school. Learning in general, it just isn't what it used to be. It's less collaborative. I feel like the pandemic helped me in some sort of way, it had as many benefits as it did the opposite. And I don't think I would change it. I think I was glad to have the opportunity to live with my family like that for a while. I remember having Thanksgiving with my family, which is usually a very big holiday. Like we have people flying into town. It's like a very big thing. And for the first year ever, we had a just Thanksgiving with my family. Just my immediate family, which we have never done before. The turkey. I don't know if it caught on fire for a second. It was a Thanksgiving disaster. I think we ended up microwaving some pizza. It was fun. We had a lot of fun, especially since everyone's getting older. It was really nice to live in my family like that for a little bit, especially now that my brother moved back out. And it's nice. I feel like I wouldn't have had the opportunity to get as close to them as I did. There was one day when it was very early in the pandemic. I live kind of close to Boston. I'm up in Wakefield. They put in the stay at home order. And my dad wasn't working and he and I ended up driving around the coast, around Gloucester, just for the day just to kill time and stuff like that. And when we were driving, he was like “I really want a haircut. I haven't had the opportunity to get my haircut in so long.” So I told him, I was like, “I'll cut your hair that would be great.” And we got back and I asked him, because my dad's getting older and he is losing some hair, I was like “I'm wondering what you would look like if you were bald.” We weren't seeing anyone, so he shaved his head fully. I started shaving, at first we did a buzzer, and then I got shaving cream and we made him completely bald. That was probably one of the highlights of COVID. He looked scary. And he looked like Mr. Clean. It was good though. I thought it was funny. I think that was a good bonding experience between my family.

Camille's Story Camille details her relationship with her siblings and the importance that they play in her life and how they have helped her get through her toughest challenges. Scroll to listen Camille's Story 00:00 / 04:23 Growing up I went through a lot within my family, through so much of it I felt this large sense of loneliness and this feeling of having to do everything myself and always being alone. But then I realized I have the three most important people in my life standing right next to me the whole time. I have three siblings, who are very close to me in age. My oldest sister's name is Bella, she is currently 23 and she lives in the UK. My youngest sister's name is Josie, she is 20 and she is a sophomore here at UMass Amherst. Then I have a younger brother who is 17, he is a senior in high school. I think having siblings in my life has totally transformed who I am as a person. I think they are the best part of my life. Our parents got divorced which felt like my whole childhood, it felt like this ongoing struggle and battle in my life. So many times, I tried to shield my siblings from it, even though I wasn't the oldest child it always felt like my role in life for some reason. I spent so much time just fighting against things that were just expected to happen, that I feel like I almost lost a part of myself, and it made me have this overwhelming sense of loneliness. I think that has really impacted who I am as a person, and I also think it has led me to be the person I am and to always feel the need to help others or to empathize with other people. Interviewer: “I just so love hearing you talk about your siblings and your relationship with them and somehow there has to be natural sibling rivalry, but you guys do not let that get in the way.” Sibling rivalry thing, I don't know if this is a common theme of siblings but for us it was a lot worse when we were children. I felt like we were all on an equal playing field. I feel like as I have grown up, one of the reasons I first told myself I wouldn't be a doctor was because my older sister is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met in my life. I will commend her for that till the day she dies, she is one of my biggest inspirations in my life, and I feel like the reason why I try too hard to be a better person all around and better at school and better opportunity to connect with people is because of the way my older sister conducts herself. She is like that one person I will always reach out to for advice, we still have our daily phone calls. There was never a said rivalry between us, but I think her being so smart has always not necessarily weighed on me, but it has always been that factor that she is so smart, how can I be so smart… But I think over time I realized that there could be a million smart people in the world. And I think that's one of the reasons me and my siblings get along so well is because I think we each bring our own thing to the table. Even Thanksgiving dinner if we are not all there, something is missing. Separately we each have our own personality, our own ball of energy. As though they're so different from each other, I also feel like they're so similar. People always tell us “Have you guys realized you have the same exact mannerisms?” Like I guess we make the same motions with our hands when we speak. Every time I am with one of my siblings it is like wow you guys are identical. It's funny because I have red hair, my older sister has brunette hair, and my younger sister has blonde hair, so we are not identical in any way shape or form. But sometimes people really can't tell us apart from our mannerisms and the things we say. I think that is so true for us because even though I get to see my older sister two/three times a year now. I still am adapting to things she says, her mannerisms. My younger sister is adapting to both of ours and I just think it's so funny to watch us interact. Even if I do not get to talk to my siblings every day, they are still the biggest part of my life, and it shows in so many more ways than one. They are one thing in my life that makes me feel like it's possible to beat loneliness. Because I remember at any point in my life, even in high school, my loneliest moments, the moments when I was the saddest, like when your first boyfriend breaks up with you, I remember the first thing I think about is always like at least I always have them. They will never leave me. That really means more than the world, is that I can make the biggest mistake and no matter what I do in my life I will always have them. It is the best feeling.

Tell Me A Story: Building Connection Across Generations A Project of University of Massachusetts Public Health Sciences Program and Northampton Neighbors Everyone has a story to share... Public Health students at UMass Amherst paired up with Northampton Neighbors for this storytelling project. We hope you enjoy their stories. Click on the names below to hear their stories. To view more stories, click the tabs in the menu above. You can see stories told by each cohort of students & Neighbors. To listen to the full interviews, click here! ​ New Stories! Luke's Story Luke shares a story about his uncle Peter who is a Carthuegen Monk in Slovenia. He talks about his personal relationship with Peter and how Peter inspires him in his own life. Listen Sharon's Story Sharon shares about the influence that her hardworking, loving grandmother had on her and how this influence guided her to be the person she is today. ​ Listen Brenda's Story Brenda talks about her experience being a daughter to Brazilian immigrants and first-generation college student. Brenda describes the transformation in her perspective from once desperately wanting to fit into typical American standards, to now embracing her Brazilian roots and culture. Listen Jesse's Story Jesse talks about a time in his life where he was wrongfully accused of going to prison. He talks about how tough that was for him but how in some ways it proved to help him. ​ Listen Saddaf's Story Saddaf talks about the role religion played in her life growing up and now, discovering it for herself, she talks about how she struggles with it in college. She touches upon navigating two identities being a first-generation Pakistani Muslim American. Listen Betsy's Story Betsy talks with Brenda about a spontaneous trip that changed her life. She talks about her wonderful experiences and a noteworthy figure that she meets on this trip. Returning from her trip, she decides to pull inspiration from her time away when opening a small store in Northampton. Listen Liya's Story Liya speaks with Nina about her experiences attending a preparatory boarding school. Theydiscuss the effects that it had on her life reflecting on aspects of race, class, & socioeconomic status. Listen Ngozi's Story Ngozi talks to Tamar about traveling to Nigeria, dad's special pancakes, and how she would like to be remembered. She describes how her family's home in Nigeria is the most important place to her. Listen Dennis' Story Dennis describes the process he went through when he decided to become a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. He discusses the impact of that decision and the mark it left on his life. Listen Bert's Story Bert shares with Alisson the remarkable role that neighborhood organizations have played in her life. They have provided her and her family with support and companionship through some of her most challenging moments. Listen Ray's Story In this clip, Ray discusses his journey to a love of theater and acting. He has now been an actor for over 50 years. Acting has taught him a great deal about life, and is a critical part of his identity. Listen Betty's Story Betty chronicles her challenging experiences at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also shares a message of hope and love. Listen

In the News Our project has been featured in several news articles and videos. Check them out below! New England Public News Feature Dr. Gloria DiFulvio, as well as two participants in the project, Hellen Muma and Johnathan Daube, were featured on New England Public Media's "Connecting Point" to discuss their experience. Dr. DiFulvio also discusses the goals of the project, and what it was like to partner with Northampton Neighbors for this intergenerational storytelling endeavor. Experiential Learning Builds Connection Across Generations - UMass Amherst Feature The course, titled "The Epidemic of Loneliness: On Connection, Belonging, and Public Health," was also featured on the UMass Amherst website. Several other participants were interviewed for the piece and asked about their experiences. Tell Me a Story: Building Connections Across Generations Dr. Gloria DiFulvio was featured on the Northampton Neighbors Speakers Series to discuss the Epidemic of Loneliness course and lessons learned about the meaning of connection over the course of the project. This College Class is Bringing Generations Together To Reduce Loneliness - CoGenerate Feature This piece features participants in the project, Liya Liang and Nina Kleinberg, who discussed what the storytelling project and the course "The Epidemic of Loneliness: On Connection, Belonging, and Public Health" have taught them.

Rick's Story Rick talks about his parents and how they were his lighthouses growing up. Specifically, he focuses on how a moment with his father in the hospital has guided his view on the meaning of life. Rick's Story 00:00 / 03:15 I have always felt that my parents were kind of my lighthouses. You know they kind of guided me along the way and I think that my father was more protective of the rocks, but my mom was the lighthouse that steered me to shore when maybe I hit the rocks. They were pretty incredible people, I mean and it is sort of, of course like any family we had our own disfunctions. My father raised birds and when I say we had birds, he had maybe 40 parakeets in a cage on wheels in the garage that he would wheel out. We had ring-necked doves and white doves in the basement in a huge coop. And then he actually built a huge coop outside for the cocktails. So we grew up with lots of birds and he was a very gentle man, he was a man of birds and flowers. My mother was very, my mother was always making something for somebody, okay. She was always crocheting or knitting. And if she loved a soap opera star who had a baby she would send them things that she made. And she was always feeding people. And if she didn’t have food to give someone if she came, she would give you canned food. “You sure you have enough to eat honey?” you know. We took in a lot of people who had no place to go during Christmas and so there were always people who would come for the holidays. They kind of took people under their wing. I think one of the most significant things that happened for me was when my father had kidney disease and when he, it was discovered he only had kidney. Um and he eventually had to go for dialysis but he had that type of poisoning that happens and we were all gathered in the hospital room and I thought that that was going to be the time that he was going to be leaving us. My father has blue eyes, but his eyes changed color. They just sort of. I don’t even know how to describe it, they became translucent and we all noticed that. But he was looking behind us, and I just knew that his brother was in the room, his mother was in the room. You know, his relatives were in the room and that they were there to get him. And to take him. And I really didn’t expect that he would live that night, but he did. And so in the following morning when we went to visit him, and we of course were thrilled that he was still there you know, he said, “I really thought I was going to leave last night and I never thought I would have the opportunity to say I love you again.” And I thought, oh my god, that’s it. That’s the only reason why we are here, that he gave me my mantra. He gave me my purpose. He gave me this incredible insight that the only reason that we are here is for the opportunity to love and say those words. And we forget that as we squabble, as you know, as we go through everything we go through. You know but, that to me became the beacon of his lighthouse. Previous Next

< Back Title You can get more out of your site elements by making them dynamic. To connect this element to content from your collection, select the element and click Connect to Data. Once connected, you can save time by updating your content straight from your collection—no need to open the Editor, or mess with your design. Add any type of content to your collection, such as rich text, images, videos and more, or upload a CSV file. You can also collect and store information from your site visitors using input elements like custom forms and fields. Collaborate on your content across teams by assigning permissions setting custom permissions for every collection. Be sure to click Sync after making changes in a collection, so visitors can see your newest content on your live site. Preview your site to check that all your elements are displaying content from the right collection fields. Ready to publish? Simply click Publish in the top right of the Editor and your changes will appear live. Scroll to listen 00:00 / 01:04 You can get more out of your site elements by making them dynamic. To connect this element to content from your collection, select the element and click Connect to Data. Once connected, you can save time by updating your content straight from your collection—no need to open the Editor, or mess with your design. Add any type of content to your collection, such as rich text, images, videos and more, or upload a CSV file. You can also collect and store information from your site visitors using input elements like custom forms and fields. Collaborate on your content across teams by assigning permissions setting custom permissions for every collection. Be sure to click Sync after making changes in a collection, so visitors can see your newest content on your live site. Preview your site to check that all your elements are displaying content from the right collection fields. Ready to publish? Simply click Publish in the top right of the Editor and your changes will appear live. Previous Next

Francesca's Story Follow Francesca as she shares her spiritual journey as a follower of Saint Francis of Assisi, inspiring her devotion to uplifting others around her while spreading love. Francesca's Story 00:00 / 03:47 Julia: “What person or entity in your life has been the most influential for you?” Francesca: “For me, I grew up in a difficult family, but a friend invited me to go to church with her and they taught us how to become followers of Saint Francis of Assisi, and he became the most important and most influential person to me. It was fortunate that I had that happen to me, just by chance it seemed like.” Julia: “Do you want to talk a little bit more about the process of finding him as that influential person or kind of what he meant to you?” Francesca: “Well I had already had my first communion. I had gone through all the training and the catechism and everything, but none of it meant anything in my heart. And after my first communion I was attending a church that was a national monument, that was gorgeous. You walk in and there’s paintings all over the ceiling, and everybody went because it was such a beautiful church and everybody went to show off their clothes. And I didn’t know what I was doing there, you know? And then my girlfriend said, you know, come to my church you’re gonna like my church, it’s fun, we have the beat music, guitars and everything. So I decided start going over to her church. And when I went, at first I said why are there no paintings, there was nothing, you know, there was nothing. And they said ‘It’s a Franciscan church and Saint Francis wanted the churches to be simple.’ And then they said ‘You can come on Friday afternoon, we teach all about Saint Francis.’ So I went on Friday afternoon, and they would teach us all about Saint Francis, and then they would teach us about the problems we were facing today - how would he tackle that? And we would have to go home and do homework and bring it back the next Friday. And then after we worked all together as a group, after we worked, then we would have time in the courtyard and it was a beautiful, beautiful courtyard. And we would have time to play. And they were teaching me, then I understood finally. So Saint Francis became my ladder to God, because before I hadn’t gotten any of it, you know? It was all up here, but it wasn’t in my heart. I couldn’t find a consistent church near me, so I go to a Congregational church. It's important to me to be able to serve and to be able to belong. So I started going, and I started serving, and it's important to me, and it's also important that Saint Francis always had to uplift the least of the least, you know, always make sure that you can help them. Like if they’re homeless, whatever. Help them. Help them. Help them, you know? Don’t leave people stranded behind, you know? So that was really important to him, and it was important that we stop reading the Bible, stop reading all the books, and do it. Get out there and do it. So that was really big for him. So I try to be as active as I can. Whether its part of my church or not, I try to. If I see someone who is homeless, I stop and talk about whatever they want to talk about. Saint Francis became really meaningful to me, he made sense to me, for love to exist. For love to be the most important part of living your life." Previous Next

Samantha's Story Samantha talks about her childhood and her appreciation for her Jewish heritage and her understanding of her family history and how it shaped her experiences through life and helped her to face her toughest challenges. Scroll to listen Samantha's Story 00:00 / 03:04 ​

< Back Jacqueline's Story Jacqueline talks about the most important person in her life; her mom. She describes her perseverance, strength, and love for both her and her brother. Scroll to listen 00:00 / 03:40 Can you tell me about the most important people in your life? Yeah, I would say definitely my mom, for obvious reasons. She's amazing. And she's definitely my biggest role model. My mom started, she went to college to be an accountant. And then she hated that, because she didn't like how accountants were very, to the point didn't have like much of a sense of humor. And she, she's such a big person. She's such a talker, so that was important to her. So then she went into health care, she went to nursing school. When I was about four, my parents got divorced me, my brother, and my mom went to go live with my uncle. And my aunt, my cousin in born, which is where we then bought our house. between in between when they got divorced, she was in the middle of nursing school, so I can't imagine how hard that was for her. So being with my living with my aunt uncle definitely made it easier for her. And we spent a lot of time with them one on one, then she started working down in P town, which is about maybe two hours from my house, maybe a little less. And she would go every day work double shifts, drive all the way home sleep and do it all over again. I don't know how she did it. And then she started teaching nursing assistants. And she loved it. She was working just as a teacher under the owner. And then the owner decided that she was going to sell the company. And my mom was devastated because she loved her job. So she ended up buying the school from her. She had the school for a while, probably like 10 years, it was definitely hard because the financial situation wasn't always constant. Because that's obviously what happens when you own your own business. And it will add everything fell on her if like one of her teachers couldn't go. So there were times where it was just her running the business. So she's definitely worked very hard. And then about three or four years ago, this nursing home agency reached out to her asking them asking her to teach all of their and all of their facilities. And she took it almost right away. She's still with the company. And that's the company that I've also worked through. I think as I'm aging, I'm becoming closer with my mom in a different way. Like we're becoming more like friends than mother and daughter even though she's always been like a friend to me and all my friends go to my mom for any problems, any advice, which I think is super important. Every year on my birthday since my birthday on Christmas Eve My mom always made sure no one could say the words Christmas Eve on my birthday. It was always Jacqueline's birthday. And she would always set up she'd had balloons and she loves cards. So she'd have like a million cards. And like just a whole setup and it was always so grand and special. And so that's every year. That's definitely something that I'm looking forward to. I would like to be as good of a mother as she has been to me. I think she's done. Such a good job raising my brother and I She's worked very hard. She hasn't had a lot of extra money or extra time or anything. So I think just making sure that when I'm older that I have the ability to take care of her like she took care of me Previous Next

Kaela's Story Kaela expresses how running has been a fundamental part of her life since she was younger but has really unfolded for her as she was in high school and college to something she really loves to do. Over the years, her relationship with running and the community she has formed with it has grown into something that holds a special place for her to continue wherever she ends up in the future. Kaela's Story 00:00 / 14:43 I would say when I was very very young, I was always like there's there's these track races they'd have every Wednesday night in my town and I would go from when I was like two or three years old and it would just be like a bunch of really little kids just running down like the straightaway of the track and at the end you get a ribbon. The only reason I liked to go was because there's an ice cream truck there and at the end you would get like a little popsicle from the ice cream truck and I'd get a nice green participation ribbon and I had like a hundred of them cuz I never was anywhere close to the front but, that was kind of like my first introduction to running. When I was very little I continued to do those races throughout elementary school but it was never something that I really saw myself doing, it was just like a fun activity. Then when I was in middle school I had a friend who was like bugging me she's like “you got to come out and try this cross country thing like I know you're really going to like it” and I was being very stubborn about it and I was like “god I just don't think it's for me like it's just not my thing” and eventually I was like “fine I'll go to like the introductory meeting with you” and I want and I was like I left the meeting and already I was like “yeah I'm definitely going to do this” and throughout 2 years in middle school, I did it because I actually really enjoyed running. I liked competing, I thought it was a lot of fun I liked just getting better. I just like I just loved the feeling of running. The feeling of like going after school and just getting to be active. So that was kind of my first introduction to it and then I think as I got older and in high school and college I've definitely it's gone from a “oh this is something I really like to do” to like “wow this is something I love and this is like a sport that I love in a community that I love.” So that my relationship with it has gradually increased and gotten stronger over time. When I am running and when I am healthy and I am very grateful for it. I feel very grateful that I am able to because I've know how many times that I that I haven't been able to do that so it really makes the times when I'm healthy a lot lot special a lot more special. I think that I've learned a lot of resilience and patience from running and not the things we want aren't necessarily going to come to us right away and that things don't necessarily change overnight and it takes a lot of of patience and like dedication and a lot of wanting wanting something to happen to be able to make it happen. I tell you about that and a lot about having a purpose and wanting to. One thing I love about running is I know it is a very much lifelong sport and that there are so many opportunities to continue it once I leave college and get a job. I was so inspired I am able to continue it for as long as I can and hope that wherever I live in the future I'm able to find a new community of Runners and a new running group. I know that they're everywhere. I'm really happy that it is something that I know is going to stick with me for life. For me, I think running definitely has a special place. There's something about just like being able to feel like you're flying over the pavement and it just feels very freeing to me and definitely a place where I can clear my mind. Previous Next

Carol's Story Carol talks about her experience traveling to Europe her junior year of college after realizing that she needs to go out of her comfort zone. With support from her friend and her parents, this trip changes her perspective on the kind of person she wants to strive to be, for her career but mostly for herself. The European mindset is what influences her to do things that make herself feel whole like slowing down her day with journaling and yoga. This trip has inspired her to travel for nursing and even ignite the courage to solo trip alone someday. Carol's Story 00:00 / 03:22 Interviewer: Can you tell me about an experience that influenced your life a lot that you felt that you learned something? Carol: I went a trip abroad last year during the spring and before going on a trip abroad I never thought I could do anything like that just because I'm a homebody, I like my own friends and family. And it was a fall semester of my junior year. I realized that I really needed to go out of my comfort zone in order to grow just because I've been so used to being surrounded by my friends and not really branching out. So I decided mid fall to go and before that I was absolutely not going anywhere. I was just going to stay at UMass Amherst and something came over me. One of my friends said to me, you will never be this young and be able to travel the world again and I decided that I really should be able to do that and if I have the opportunity to I would be stupid not to take it. I got on my flight to Barcelona, it was January 11th, and I was so nervous. I remember the week before that, I was crying to my mom and dad. They just kept saying, you are going to have the time of your life. When you come back, you are gonna be a changed person. And I was just like, oh my God, they're not being serious. Like, I'm not gonna be a changed person. But they were right. I was with my two friends, which I know it's not really out of my comfort zone, but it's the best I could get. And we went to 11 different countries and we just traveled the world together and experienced all these different cultures, new friends, and the lifestyle there is quite different than here. It's really relaxed and laid back. There was a saying that I read that people here work to live, but in Europe, people live to work. I think that is so true. When I was there, people were on the street at 12pm, people would be out drinking coffee, enjoying their time with their friends and family. And here, you never really see anybody drinking coffee. They're mostly running to work, getting coffee for work or running back to work. And I really realized that I need to enjoy my life and I don't need to constantly be working, constantly be doing something that leads to work. I need to enjoy it. And these experiences are really what shaped me to who I am. Work won't shape me to who I am. Only the experiences do. So when I came back from abroad, I really decided to live my life and look at my life in a different perspective. I decided to do new things every day that I enjoyed. I tried to put more time for myself into my day-to-day life. And before that, I was just working, constantly doing homework, constantly doing something that will help my future. Even now, I still obviously do that, but now I do more things for myself. Like I meditate each morning. I go to yoga, I journal. And I realized that definitely helped me a lot to become a happier person, just because I saved more time for myself. And I also have gotten more out of my comfort zone. Like now I wanna do a trip alone. I also am going to travel nursing. So I would love to travel alone and work in a different hospital all by myself. I think exposing myself to a different culture and exposing myself to a different country all alone has definitely helped me get out of my comfort zone and try new things. Previous Next