A-B Tech students from communications, art and videography programs will gather on Thursday, November 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium to present culminating projects from a semester-long intergenerational history project called Voices & Visions.

Now in its second year, Voices & Visions brings together 75 students from the college’s public speaking, art and filmmaking programs and connects them with seniors from local retirement community Carolina Village.

In September, one group of public speaking and film students interviewed and filmed 15 Carolina Village residents to gather their life stories. A group of art students created still-life portraits of the residents from five personal objects they were asked to bring. Over the course of the semester, the students prepared short presentations, films and final drawings that represent the residents’ lives and stories. The projects will be presented on November 12 in an event that is open to the public. 

The seed for A-B Tech's Voices & Visions oral history project was planted in early 2025. For years, Fine Arts and Communications Chair Rebekah Handy had dreamed of an intergenerational storytelling project that would highlight the lives of local seniors, while giving her students a chance to practice their interviewing and public speaking skills. Handy voiced her dream to A-B Tech art instructor Ani Volkan, whose sister, Aleen Dailey, works as wellness coordinator at local retirement community Carolina Village. It turned out that Dailey also loves to foster intergenerational projects with the broader community. Handy, Volkan, and Dailey put their heads together and created the Voices & Visions project in September 2025. It has been growing ever since.

Handy said the project has had a positive effect for all involved. For students, “It provided an invaluable hands-on opportunity to connect classroom learning with real-world engagement,” she said. For residents, the project offered a platform for sharing personal stories and wisdom, while receiving in return the students’ still life portraits. Handy said it also has been an innovative teaching tool. Her communications instructors used the project for team teaching in Ferguson Auditorium this semester. Voices & Visions is led by Handy and a team of instructors, including Martha Gates, Curits Philon, Derek Rhodarmer and Ani Volkan. Handy says each of them have been integral to the project.

Earlier this year, Voices & Visions was recognized with LeadingAge North Carolina’s 2026 Excellence in Innovation award.