Late last year, I read an astounding National Opinion Survey report commissioned a by the nonprofit CoGenerate that asked, “Is America ready to bring older and younger people together to solve problems and bridge divides?”
As Mirabella residents settle into their homes and begin exploring ASU’s vast ecosystem in earnest, we have discovered that Mirabella residents are not only learners and mentors on campus, but they are also highly skilled advocates for students.
Part of being a lifelong learner is a willingness to journey from being the most experienced person in the room (often times a teacher or educator) to being a learner once again. This requires re-developing a “Beginner’s Mindset”
Part of the value of university-based retirement communities like Mirabella at ASU is the opportunity to explore how to support learning at every stage of life. It’s no surprise that learning looks a lot different at 70 than it does at 20!
Most Mirabella at ASU residents who have enrolled in ASU classes have already discovered that the “sage on the stage” model of learning, in which the instructor stands at the front of the classroom…
One of the seminal works that guided my thinking about Mirabella at ASU’s potential as a force for promoting and socializing intergenerational connections, was Marc Freedman’s How to Live Forever
Did you know that hearing loss is one of the only preventable risk factors contributing to dementia in older adults?
Dr. Thurmon Lockhart, the Inaugural MORE Foundation Life in Motion Professor in the Biomedical Engineering program in the School of Biological Health and Systems Engineering at ASU
Lindsey Beagley is the Director of Lifelong University Engagement for Mirabella at ASU and leads the vision for Mirabella’s full immersion into the ASU campus community. This includes designing new programs to promote intergenerational connections, purpose-driven engagement experiences, and lifelong learning.
Lindsey is a native Phoenician and lifelong Sun Devil having grown up around ASU’s campuses where her father has served on the faculty for the last 25 years. She earned a BA (Spanish), BS (Psychology) and a Master of Public Administration from ASU. As an undergraduate, she worked as a strategic research analyst for President Crow’s New American University model, and a decade later returned as a University Innovation Fellow experimenting with ways to blur the traditional bounds of the university and the community it serves.
In 2021, Lindsey was awarded Phoenix Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award and is passionate about connecting generations and innovating the future of university-based retirement living.
