Stuck inside during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stacy Barnes, a director at the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center and Marquette University professor, had an epiphany.
If she was lonely, isolated from the outside world, others stewing in solitude had to be as well, simultaneously battling those same harmful feelings. Barnes, who specializes in the social aspects of geriatric care, felt called to do something about it. She was not the problem, but wanted to be part of the solution.
How could she help ease the isolation, which a 2015 study showed can be as harmful to health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day?
Her brain started whirring, and an idea formed: What if she bridged her two worlds − elderly people and college students − and connected one community with the other?
“It’s loneliness of graduate students,” she said, “but there’s also loneliness of older adults.”
Barnes started doing research, and found she was not the only person to have this idea. There were programs all around the world that housed college students in nursing homes, living among people old enough to be their grandparents. Students do some form of service hours volunteering at the home, and, in return, get cheaper rent, among other things.
Barnes loved the idea, and wanted to bring it to Milwaukee.
The first step was finding a retirement home Marquette University could partner with. St. Camillus in Wauwatosa quickly became the obvious choice. Two former Marquette presidents live there, and like Marquette, it is a Catholic institution, named after the founder of the Camillian Order.
Once St. Camillus was on board, both sides had to iron out specifics. What students could live there? How much would they pay in rent? Do they get the same benefits as full-time residents? What would volunteering look like?
Two years later, in the fall of 2022, the first cohort of Marquette students moved in.
Affordable rent, free amenities for Marquette students
Barnes felt nerves the first time she opened the application to Marquette students. She’d heard from other program directors people applied for more superficial reasons, like the cheap rent. She didn’t want that same experience for St. Camillus.
She knew the perks, like affordable rent, would incentivize students to participate in the program.
In 2025, students paid $680 a month for a one-bedroom apartment − nearly $1,000 less than the Milwaukee area’s median asking rent of $1,630.
They also get free access to St. Camillus’ amenities: gym, parking, laundry, satellite TV, heat and WiFi. If that wasn’t enough, they receive $700 every month in food credit, which they can use at The Pub, two restaurants and market on St Camillus’ campus.
As appealing as she’d knew these benefits would be, Barnes did not want them to be the main draw. She wanted people who wanted to be a member of the St. Camillus community, and cared about building relationships and fostering connections with residents.
People like Janie Schulz.
A fast-track Ph.D. student studying behavioral analysis, Schulz got her undergraduate degree from Creighton University in spring 2024. When Schulz began looking at graduate programs, she knew Marquette offered strong academics. Learning it also offered a place to live sealed the deal.
Different than probably many of her peers, Schulz was not nervous about living exclusively with hundreds of people old enough to be her grandparents. Quite the opposite.
“It made me 20 times more excited to come to Marquette,” Schulz said. “Of course I want a million grandparents.”
Now, Schulz is entering her third year as a resident, tied for the longest-tenured Golden Eagle in the program’s history. She estimates she knows 90% of the people she passes in the halls, and sometimes forgets to wear her name tag because of it − much to the security guards’ chagrin.
Every time applications open, and Barnes gets input from the St. Camillus staff and residents, they vouch for Schulz to stay.
“She’s almost like a granddaughter,” 82-year-old Maria Osthelder said.
Marquette students interact with residents through volunteer events
One of Schulz’s favorite parts is the requirement − though, she doesn’t see it as one − to interact with her unofficial grandparents through volunteering. There aren’t any rules about what students do, just that they spend at least eight hours with them every week.
Tech Tuesdays, where she taught the elderly the basics of phones, computers and tablets, made her a celebrity at St. Camillus. Another popular one is her weekly hourlong walk around the Milwaukee Zoo, which is right across the street. She recently tried putt-putt golf on the little green outside the East Residence.
Jacob Barnes, a graduate student pursuing an MBA, hosts Marquette men’s basketball game watch parties during the season.
One of his favorite events, which he’s hosted almost every Tuesday since he moved in last fall, involves him and a handful of residents watching a TED Talk and then debriefing as a small group. Topics can be educational, such as avoiding scams, or the rise of artificial intelligence. They can also be more introspective, like this past Tuesday’s, which was titled “What really matters at the end of life.”
“We go there,” Jacob Barnes said. “Nothing is off limits.”
When Jacob Barnes enrolled in Marquette, he wasn’t sure what to expect. The one time he’d been to Milwaukee was for an academic advising meeting, and didn’t know anybody. He had no place to live, and many apartments were over budget. And, there were only a few months until classes began.
St. Camillus took all those worries away.
Jacob Barnes, an extrovert, quickly made friends with many of the elderly residents. It could be because of the TED Talks, or Marquette watch parties. One resident, David Krill, a former Marquette real estate professor who moved into St. Camillus four years ago, regularly passes along career advice whenever the two see each other.
“That would not have happened if I’d not had this opportunity to be here,” Jacob Barnes said. “This program has given me so much more than what I’ve given it.”
Marquette students create welcoming community for residents
Nancy Vetter has lived at St. Camillus for only eight months, but she regularly sees Marquette students hosting events and building relationships with residents. Marilyn Perry, 92, notices them walking through the facility, always with a smile and wave.
Grace Stetter has seen the change over a longer stretch. The 99-year-old has lived at St. Camillus for 10 years and remembers what it was like before the Marquette students moved in: quieter, less lively and with fewer reasons for residents to leave their rooms.
She does not usually attend the students’ events, but she notices their presence in the halls.
“Any young people around here are good,” Stetter said. “They give a different perspective.”
For Stetter, the students have transformed the residence into a community, adding a vibrant rhythm to daily life.
Jack Albright can be reached at jalbright@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette students live alongside retirement residents at St. Camillus
Reporting by Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Jack Albright, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
