ANDERSON — Anderson University students will learn a lot in textbooks and classes, but they may have learned some of their most important lessons through ordinary conversations with senior citizens.
Residents of the Primrose Retirement Community dropped by the university Tuesday morning to share random acts of kindness with the students. They handed out Amazon cards and encouraged the students to keep doing well in their classes.
"Sometimes we only talk with them for a minute, but it can be worth a lot just to say I care," said John Wrightsman, one of the Primrose residents who participated in the random act of kindness.
Wrightsman and fellow Primrose resident Walter Ellsworth are both 93 years old. They say the experience at Anderson University left them feeling young and hopeful.
"It's just a little easier to talk to young people," Ellsworth said. "Back when I was that age, there weren't many gifts. People couldn't afford it."
"It's very invigorating for me, it gives me something to do for a change," Wrightsman said.
Ellsworth spent a portion of his time talking with Anderson student Landon Bear.
"It's extremely valuable to speak to someone older than you that has a lot more wisdom than you," Bear said. "Relationships are king. They're the most important thing in life and as long as you establish those relationships, they can take you a long way."
Primrose residents have dropped by Anderson University to spread random acts of kindness every year for the past eight years.
