Senior High Tech Comes Back To Cheyenne In January

Laramie County residents can receive free one-on-one tutoring on their cell phones and other mobile devices thanks to high school students from Cheyenne Interact clubs on January 25 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Laramie County Senior Citizens Center.

The event, called Senior High Tech, is a collaboration between Interact, as well as AARP Wyoming and the Laramie County Senior Citizens Center. The training is free and there is no requirement to be an AARP member in order to take part in the event. In addition to the tech tutoring, a free lunch, courtesy of AARP Wyoming will be available on Jan. 25. Attendees are encouraged to bring a mobile device, or laptop to the training.

Providing technical support for the event will be students from the Cheyenne East and South High School Interact Programs. East’s Interact was one of the first organizations to take part in a Senior High Tech event in Wyoming and Jan. 25 will be the third time they have offered their knowledge to Cheyenne’s age 50+ at a Senior High Tech event. There are over 20,000 Interact Clubs around the world affiliated with Rotary International with a mission to bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self.

“Senior Tech Day has become one of our club’s favorite service projects,” says East Interact Advisor Angela Scheelhaas. “Although it’s fun for teens to help seniors with technology, they most enjoy creating a human connection with an older generation. My students frequently tell me about stories that were shared with them and how they gained valuable connections with someone they would normally never meet. The experience leaves a meaningful impact on our youth!”

AARP Wyoming has been sponsoring Senior High Tech events for two years with the first series of Senior High Tech events happening thanks to a collaboration between AARP’s Goshen County Community Group, The Goshen County Senior Friendship Center, as well as students from Lingle-Fort Laramie High School’s student council and Future Business Leaders of America groups.

At each event, a group of students from the local high school provides one-on-one tutoring sessions to those age 50 and over in the community. During past Senior High Tech events, high school students have helped citizens with questions such as finding old emails, sending photos to loved ones, or adding apps to the phone. These are typically easy answers to offer and the library does have WIFi, allowing for work online.

AARP Wyoming supports the events as they help address issues with social isolation, both in-person at Senior High Tech events, as well as by helping those age 50 and over to better engage online. According to studies, social isolation has the same health impacts as smoking 15 cigarettes per day.

Senior centers, or service organizations interested in holding a Senior High Tech in your community can contact Tanya Johnson at: tajohnson@aarp.org.