ESU Tech Club Partners with Senior Center – The Bulletin

A unique partnership in Emporia is helping bridge a digital divide. 

Members of Emporia State’s Tech Club have teamed up with the Emporia Senior Center to provide monthly support and cybersecurity workshops for older adults navigating the digital world. Student volunteers not only teach essential skills but also offer one-on-one guidance. 

Carla Fessler, director of the ESC, spoke with The Bulletin about how these workshops have been going on behalf of the senior participants. 

Following the launch of these workshops, participants have come in with a wide range of experience levels which has shaped their needs.

“The patrons of the Senior Center have varying levels of technology knowledge… the ones that have little experience have really appreciated having help available,” said Fessler. “I would say that the most common issues we have seen are those with their cell phones. They have a lot of issues with that kind of technology.”

Fessler said participants “feel much more confident” after receiving help and gaining experience. 

“Watching seniors come to events that empower them and give them insight and help is amazing … you are never too old to learn something new,” she said.

In addition to Fessler’s perspective, student members of Tech Club also reflected on their involvement and experiences with the program.

Tech club student leaders Gracie Gilpin, Thomas Van Goethem, Eli Hernandez and Azwad Zahraan described how feedback from participants, along with hearing real-world experiences of scams and financial loss, underscored the importance of the workshops. They noted that these moments helped highlight the program’s impact saying it showed the importance of the program’s education.

“Their growing confidence in understanding and using technology safely,” Zahraan said. Over time, students have seen increased attendance and engagement, with participants more willing to ask questions, share experiences and apply what they learn.

Students also reflected on their expectations going into the program, which were quickly challenged by the level of engagement they encountered. 

“We were worried that we may speak too technically and fail to engage with them, but that was not the reality at all,” Zahraan shared. 

ESU Tech Club leaders described seniors had a baseline familiarity with basic online safety concepts at the start of the program. The program helps them add on that. 

They concluded that participants “clearly know what’s going on,” emphasizing that they mainly need “a reliable source of guidance” as they continue building confidence with new and emerging technologies.

“Most understood some basic concepts like how to make sure to not click on Phishing links and not share personal identification details online and use stronger passwords,” said Zahraan. “At the end of the workshop, we had folks who mentioned their curiosity of crypto-currency works, and it felt great to help them understand the basic of these concepts.”