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Students Bridge Generations Through Photography

1/14/2026

Annadele Dyott ’26 has long enjoyed photography, but a recent class assignment showed her just how powerfully it can connect people.

Dyott and her Photo Major/Photo 3 classmates partnered with MISH (Masters Interested in Sharing and Helping) students and local neighbors from the Dobbs Ferry Senior Citizen Program for an intergenerational storytelling project. The collaboration, she said, taught her “not only about studio techniques and portraiture but also about the importance of intergenerational connection, especially through the arts.”

The project began with MISH students welcoming 12 seniors to campus and enjoying coffee and donuts, followed by one-on-one interviews designed to build rapport. Photography students then escorted their guests to the digital lab for a photo session. The project will culminate in a campus exhibition in March, featuring the portraits alongside short narratives.

“Part of the preparation was not just reviewing the lighting, the backgrounds and the camera settings, but it was how do we engage with folks we've never met before,” said Rachel Langosch, upper school photography teacher and interim chair of the Visual Arts Department.

For the photographers, sustaining the flow of conversation while capturing authentic moments was challenging and rewarding. Once their subjects felt relaxed, noted Dyott, it was magical to capture on film. “One couple recounted the story of how they met: There was one seat left on the bus, so she had to sit next to him; they shared a Twizzler, and fell in love,” Dyott said.

This marks the third year that Langosch and Marie-Louise Miller, associate dean of purposeful engagement, have collaborated on an interdisciplinary, community-based initiative.

“We put our heads together and decided that if we could find a group of people who wanted to have conversations with students and tell them about their lives, we would set everything up here," Langosch explained. “So much of this was about building community connections that are sustainable and not just a one-time meeting.”

Ahead of an upcoming pizza lunch where the seniors will receive their copies of the portraits, Tess McDade, the Dobbs Ferry Senior Citizen Program coordinator, said her group has already been asking when they will see the students again.

MISH project manager M’Kaela Riley ’26, who interviewed eight seniors, said she was moved by the “multitude of heartwarming and inspirational stories” she heard. “The best part of this project was that I had so many seniors either speak to me like I was their granddaughter or tell me I reminded them of theirs. I think it just made me miss my grandparents more.”