Bridging Generations

Meet Me in the Middle is a common phrase, which is a fitting title for a project connecting different generations from Marco Island Charter Middle School (MICMS) and community members. According to Suzie Bailey, School Counselor for MICMS, it encapsulates the goal of bridging generational gaps through conversation and mutual understanding.

On May 28, 2025, 89 seventh-grade students from MICMS, along with five teachers, visited the Marco Lutheran Church to engage with 33 members of the community. Senior Pastor Jim Thelen gave the students a warm welcome as they grouped into five teams and prepared their questions.

The project came about when community member Kathy Berner approached Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, who then got in touch with Pastor Jim, who connected with MICMS counselor Suzie Bailey. Suzie was looking for a place to do the Meet Me in the Middle interview part of the program.

According to Bailey, “Every year we like to do a counseling curriculum for the seventh graders,” said Bailey. “This year, there has been a lot of talk about what’s happening with cell phones, with our kids not really engaging in basic conversation. Even when they are with each other, they are text messaging each other. We thought it might be a neat idea to hook them up with community members, since there is a whole group of people out there that they don’t normally interact with.” When asked why choose seventh graders, Bailey said, “The seventh graders are in the ‘middle of the middle’ and we try to do a project in the Spring of their seventh grade year and get them ready for eighth grade, focusing on what they need.”

“For middle schoolers, who are still developing their social identities and communication repertoires,” Bailey said, “consistent in-person engagement is vital for healthy social-emotional growth and preparing them for successful relationships in all aspects of life. Face-to-face conversations require and build active listening skills.”

For most of the morning, the students were focused on interview questions like

“Thinking back to when you were my age, what was a typical day like for you?”

“What technologies or inventions from your youth seemed futuristic at that time, and how have they impacted your life?”

“Looking back at your life, what’s one piece of advice or key lesson you would share with us (middle school students) today?”

After the group interviews were finished, the students went back to school to design a trifold with answers to the questions, adding visuals such as photos, illustrations, and art. They also had to add a section on what they learned from the interview. The next morning, the students hosted the community members in their classrooms while demonstrating professionalism and excellent manners while answering many questions.

Here are some sample interview answers.

Dave Wuellner “was born July of 1955 and was quite the talented kid. He won many science fairs and was on the track team as well as singing in the choir. He grew up to be a salesperson while also travelling a lot.”

Lili E. Surber “was born in Lima, Peru. In 1960, she moved to San Gabriel, California. A normal, typical day for Lili was walking to school every day and playing with her friends at recess. At 13, her first job was babysitting.”

Susan Schadler “grew up in Michigan and continued to come here as a kid and thought it was a nice place to visit, so she moved here and she taught at Tommie Barfield.” (Schadler is now a seventh-grade substitute teacher at MICMS).

Vickie Popoff’s “Favorite color – purple. Favorite food – all Greek food. Favorite activity: piano and singing.”

Bonnie Calvin “is from Cincinnati, Ohio, a retired accomplished teacher who enjoys participating in activities around water and the beach.”

“We all had a phenomenal time,” shared Kathy Berner, a community participant, while Bonnie Calvin was impressed with the students’ excellent manners during the interview process.