NC State University Masters Student hopes to help bridge the age gap this summer

RALEIGH, NC – As college students from the area get ready for their summer breaks, one North Carolina State University Masters student, Alex Haire, will be using his time out of the classroom helping inform and instruct older adults when it comes to social media.

With more older adults online than ever before, AARP North Carolina has hired Haire as a Social Media and Advocacy intern. He will foster greater online connections to help AARP members get the most out of life as they age. AARP North Carolina, with over 1.1 million members in the state, is increasingly using social media to educate, inform, entertain and advocate.

AARP North Carolina Director Mike Olender said, “Digital literacy is essential when it comes to broadening telehealth, medication management, transportation, and ending social isolation, to name just a few examples. AARP members have shown a great interest and appreciation not only for e-advocacy, but for a wide array of virtual programs offered statewide and regionally.”

Haire, of Connelly Springs, NC, received his bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations at Appalachian State University, and is currently pursuing a master’s in communications at North Carolina State University.  Haire will use the skills he acquired in his studies to make AARP activists even more effective when it comes to pushing for needed improvements for North Carolinians.

Haire is especially concerned about a future where very few workers are saving for retirement. He believes one commonsense plan in the General Assembly supported by AARP, the NC Work and Save Act, will do a lot to help workers save more for retirement.

“Very few younger adults are thinking ahead to their own retirements. NC Work and Save is an easy way people can accumulate savings from job to job, a nest egg that will grow over their lifetimes.”

Olender added, “Alex brings great skills that will help thousands of AARP e-activists advocate for things that help all ages like community improvements to our streets and sidewalks, affordable housing, better public transportation and support for those taking care of their parents and other loved ones.

Haire has worked with several other organizations in the past to help boost their online presence and create easier interfaces for group communications. These include groups such as Active Minds and the Addiction Professionals of North Carolina.

His advice to other communications students is to zero in on the technical skills that can transform workplaces and lives. While he learns much more about communications for advocacy, he hopes to pass along some of his knowledge of the diverse software and platforms that make communicating easier. Haire’s internship position continues through the end of 2022.