The Baltimore Sun featured the Asian studies program for its partnership with Longwood Apartments and Senior Center. The Asian studies program began an internship program at Longwood Apartments last year, allowing students to practice their language skills by translating and serving as interpreters for Korean and Chinese speaking residents. The program also created a food pantry to help low-income senior citizens in the apartment complex.
Julie Rosenthal, Asian studies, learned about Longwood Apartments through her work with Food on the 15th, a local nonprofit she founded to donate groceries and toiletries to senior citizens in Howard County. After hearing about the community and its needs, Constantine Vaporis, director of the Asian studies program, began the internship program. He said, “We found that … there was a real problem with communication between those who worked there and those who lived there. Something as simple as communicating that their faucet was leaking was a major problem for them.”
Molly Bradtke ’14, history, English, and Asian studies, and Klara Kim ’15, Asian studies and history, spoke about the opportunities provided by the internship program. Kim said, “As I worked more closely with the residents, I realized that I can learn from them. Giving back feels great, but being able to learn about life and how to live a simple, happy life, that’s something you can always have.”
Click here to read “UMBC interns help seniors access food and language skills” in The Baltimore Sun.
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