USC School Leonard Davis School of Gerontology Internship Overview
Interns will be tasked with creating Memory Kit life storybooks for individuals with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s/dementia. The process involves meeting with the individuals and their family members and conducting a series of four interviews. The interns will be provided an easy to follow script for conducting the interviews, and use The Memory Kit’s proprietary templates to create the final story books.
Completing a book involves four in-person meetings, which may take place in the participant’s home, or other locations such as adult daycare programs, assisted living facilities or non-profit support groups. The interns will be responsible for writing the biographic content, and also assisting the family with uploading photos to support the narrative.
Once complete, the intern will submit the story to The Memory Kit for a review. [Note: our story reviewers will only check for general adherence to our templates, and make suggestions if a significant milestone or family member is not represented. The Memory Kit will not edit stories for grammar, spelling or writing style.]
Objectives
For individuals with an early diagnosis, creating a Memory Kit while at the same time supporting the educational aspirations of a student is a positive and purposeful step they can take.
For students, the internship affords them the opportunity to work intimately with individuals with the disease and their family members, and to experience first hand the complex emotional landscape they must navigate.
For family caregivers, we hope that creating a Memory Kit at the earliest stages of the disease will serve as a support “gateway” that will make them more inclined to take advantage of additional resources as the disease progresses. In addition, working on their Memory Kits is an intergenerational activity that can bring families closer together and also involve loved ones that live out of the area.
Duration
Each Memory Kit takes 6-8 weeks to complete.
Ideal Internship Candidates
Cohort Format
The Memory Kit has found that a group (cohort) format is the best way to engage the participants and their families. The kickoff meeting, which is lead by a Memory Kit team member, is a fun and energizing way to get started, and gives everyone including the students a chance to ask questions. The group sharing and celebration meeting ends with a slide show set to music produced by the Memory Kit – a highlight reel of the best photos and quotes from the storybooks.
The size of each group can range from two participants up to twelve, and there can be more than one cohort under way at any give time.
Final Product
At the conclusion of each cohort participants and their families will receive a (free) private Generation Station personal website that contains their written Memory Kit life storybook and media archive.
Program Costs
The program is free for participants and students.
Interns will be tasked with creating Memory Kit life storybooks for individuals with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s/dementia. The process involves meeting with the individuals and their family members and conducting a series of four interviews. The interns will be provided an easy to follow script for conducting the interviews, and use The Memory Kit’s proprietary templates to create the final story books.
Completing a book involves four in-person meetings, which may take place in the participant’s home, or other locations such as adult daycare programs, assisted living facilities or non-profit support groups. The interns will be responsible for writing the biographic content, and also assisting the family with uploading photos to support the narrative.
Once complete, the intern will submit the story to The Memory Kit for a review. [Note: our story reviewers will only check for general adherence to our templates, and make suggestions if a significant milestone or family member is not represented. The Memory Kit will not edit stories for grammar, spelling or writing style.]
Objectives
For individuals with an early diagnosis, creating a Memory Kit while at the same time supporting the educational aspirations of a student is a positive and purposeful step they can take.
For students, the internship affords them the opportunity to work intimately with individuals with the disease and their family members, and to experience first hand the complex emotional landscape they must navigate.
For family caregivers, we hope that creating a Memory Kit at the earliest stages of the disease will serve as a support “gateway” that will make them more inclined to take advantage of additional resources as the disease progresses. In addition, working on their Memory Kits is an intergenerational activity that can bring families closer together and also involve loved ones that live out of the area.
Duration
Each Memory Kit takes 6-8 weeks to complete.
Ideal Internship Candidates
- Pursuing Master’s Degree in Gerontology (MSG, MAG, MASM, MLTCM, MSNHL)
- Desire to work one-on-one with individuals with Alzheimer’s/dementia and their families
- Enjoys writing, storytelling, photography
- For ESL students, a high level of proficiency in English is preferred. [We anticipate opportunities to match students with individuals who share the same native language.]
Cohort Format
The Memory Kit has found that a group (cohort) format is the best way to engage the participants and their families. The kickoff meeting, which is lead by a Memory Kit team member, is a fun and energizing way to get started, and gives everyone including the students a chance to ask questions. The group sharing and celebration meeting ends with a slide show set to music produced by the Memory Kit – a highlight reel of the best photos and quotes from the storybooks.
The size of each group can range from two participants up to twelve, and there can be more than one cohort under way at any give time.
Final Product
At the conclusion of each cohort participants and their families will receive a (free) private Generation Station personal website that contains their written Memory Kit life storybook and media archive.
- Memory Kits can be continually updated over time, and family and close friends can be invited to contribute their own memories and photos.
- Memory Kit life storybooks can be exported in a PDF format that can be printed or shared.
- Edited hardbound editions are available through The Memory Kit store.
Program Costs
The program is free for participants and students.
Complete Memory Kit Storybook Samples
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