Giving Voice to a Lifetime of Stories

On September 17, A-B Tech students met with Carolina Village residents in the historic Ivy building on A-B Tech’s Asheville campus. Over the course of the afternoon, students interviewed fifteen residents from the Hendersonville-based retirement community about their lives and gathered details to shape into this year’s second annual Voices & Visions Oral History Project. There were 45 students present from three programs: Communications, Videography, and Drawing.

On November 12, the students will share PowerPoint presentations, videos, and drawings they created from the resident’s life stories in a community event at A-B Tech’s Ferguson Auditorium.

During the recent interview sessions, some students walked the room with video cameras filming the activity, while others sat at tables asking questions and taking notes.

Residents were asked to bring five of their favorite objects to be transformed by the art students into unique still-life portraits. Objects shared that day included photographs, hand-made art, and figurines, including one tiny replica of the Bible’s New Testament brought in by a former pastor.

The small groups worked together to capture the residents’ stories, pausing to take a short break to enjoy pizza, lemonade, and cookies.

By the end of the afternoon, there were no strangers in the room, only friends united by a common cause: To give voice to a lifetime of memorable stories.

The Next Phase: November 12, 9:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. Students’ Final Presentations will debut in Ferguson Auditorium. Students will showcase videos, drawings, and PowerPoint presentations created about the residents’ lives. This event is open to the public.