Lights, camera, connection: ROCK of Ages builds intergenerational bridges
5 – minute read
Verandah Palomino sat at the kitchen table listening as her grandmother, Martha Palomino, recounted her journey from Lima, Peru, to the U.S. in 1970. She shared stories about the children she had and the husband she lost. She spoke of compassion, of endurance, of the small acts of kindness that carried their family through the decades.
As sunshine filled the kitchen and their time together wound down for the day, laughter spilled into music and they danced. This wasn’t the first time they’d sat together at this table in Cape Coral or danced in this room, but this occasion was different — Jameson W. Yingling was there recording the moment.
Yingling (’08, psychology) is the founder of Existential Co., a creative studio and film production company based in Los Angeles and Bonita Springs. He is directing a documentary for the Roots of Compassion and Kindness (ROCK) Center and a digital video series for the Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Collectively called ROCK of Ages, the parallel projects pair FGCU students with seniors to bridge what experts see as a growing chasm of social isolation affecting both age groups. The Cigna Group’s U.S. Loneliness Index notes in their 2025 report that “[w]hile more people in younger generations classify as lonely, loneliness affects Gen Xers and baby boomers to a greater degree.” The older generation longs to be seen and heard. The younger, having grown up in a predominantly online world, is being asked to talk to people face to face. Together, they record their stories on camera — capturing not just memories, but the quiet magic that happens when people take time to talk and listen to one another.
“We sometimes forget how much we need each other”
Maria Roca is the director of the ROCK Center and an associate professor in the College of Arts & Sciences. There’s a quote she likes to share about compassion by the American monk Thomas Merton: “The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another.”
It underscores the heart of the ROCK of Ages program — compassion isn’t just about feeling for someone else, but recognizing our deep, inherent connectedness.
“In our heavily mediated world, we sometimes forget how much we need each other and are connected to each other in three dimensions — not on devices,” Roca said. “Life is richer when we allow ourselves to be involved with others and to be compassionate in our interactions with them.”
Honors College students in her “Rock of Ages” course, including Verandah Palomino, made family films this spring by recording interviews with older relatives. Yingling filmed Palomino and her grandmother as part of this class.
“This project grounded the students with an intention to connect in person with their elders and dive into deep conversation,” Yingling said. He taught students the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking and archival practices so that they could create their own films. In April, the students screened their finished videos for their classmates, Yingling and Roca. Martha Palomino was also in attendance to watch her granddaughter’s film.
“It meant so much to everyone in the room to meet Verandah’s grandmother and see the incredible love shared between the two of them. It helped everyone appreciate the power of intergenerational care and love,” Roca said. She can’t help expressing her own gratitude when she adds, “It also touched me deeply to have her thank us for having her granddaughter do this project.”
“Filming with Vee and her abuelita Martha was such a special experience,” Yingling said. “Their relationship epitomizes the beauty of intergenerational relationships, and I was moved to tears watching Vee’s film with Martha in the audience. The experience really affirmed the importance of the project and the impact we can have in one another’s lives.”
In addition to family, students interviewed FGCU founding faculty members and senior citizens in the local community. The projects focus on addressing the loneliness epidemic amongst senior citizens and Gen Z populations, while promoting more kindness and compassion through storytelling.
“The in-depth conversations in each of these three projects promoted intergenerational interaction and understanding,” Roca said. “Post-interview feedback from both our students and senior citizens confirmed that everyone felt a deeper understanding of the other generation.”
By pairing Eagles with older people to share stories on camera, the ROCK of Ages initiatives seek to build bridges between generations and create transformative experiences that create ripple effects of social change.
“Our hope is to create a documentary about the project that can be distributed to other communities with an eye to inspiring them to bring ROCK of Ages to their community,” Roca said.
Project coordinators are looking for funding to continue their work and community members interested in sharing their stories. For more information, see the ROCK Center website.
• Hear more about ROCK of Ages on WGCU’s Gulf Coast Life