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Riverwoods resident Sharyn Zunz reads off Annika Savage's computer. Savage and three classmates are working with Zunz as part of a semester-long nursing, functional, and social assessment.

For more than two decades, Sharyn Zunz taught and mentored UNH students as a professor in the social work program.  

Now, in her retirement, Zunz continues to mentor in a new way — as a resident at RiverWoods Durham retirement community.  

Zunz recently welcomed nursing students into her home as part of the Function and Wellbeing of Older Adults course, where groups of students work with a RiverWoods resident to learn about their daily lives, health needs, and experiences with aging. For Zunz, it was an opportunity to support students' education while showing them what healthy, active aging looks like.  

“I think sometimes students come in with certain expectations about older people, and they find out some of those preconceived notions aren’t always true,” Zunz says.  

This wasn’t Zunz’s first interaction with UNH students at RiverWoods. She is also part of a women’s group led by a graduate social work student, where she had the opportunity to speak about her research on resiliency in the face of adversity. She has also participated in programs led by occupational therapy students and has attended guest lectures by UNH faculty.  

These interactions that benefit both residents and students will continue, as and the recently updated their partner agreement to create more experiential learning and clinical opportunities for students in multiple majors, including nursing, social work, health management and policy, occupational therapy, and communication sciences and disorders. RiverWoods’ Durham campus is located just minutes from UNH.

“This has been a great community affiliation that offers multiple opportunities for our students and positively impacts the community,” says Jennifer Frye, CHHS director of clinical, internship, and experiential education. “We want to continue to grow the partnership to involve more students and majors.”  

This summer, health management and policy will place its first intern at RiverWoods. Additional initiatives include speech therapy screenings led by communication sciences and disorders students and faculty, faculty- and student-supported cardiac rehabilitation programming, research collaborations, and workforce training through UNH’s Simulation Center.    

“UNH students contribute positively to RiverWoods’ organizational culture by bringing fresh ideas, latest research, strong professionalism, and renewed energy,” says Natalee Belanger, executive director of RiverWoods Durham. “Their involvement supports innovation, staff engagement, and a learning-oriented atmosphere.  Our residents have a sense of lifelong learning, and the students help them to explore that energy.”  

Function and Wellbeing of Older Adults

Among these collaborations, the Function and Wellbeing of Older Adults course stands out as one of UNH’s more established initiatives with RiverWoods.  

Students work in groups of four with a RiverWoods resident, referred to as a “consultant,” visiting them several times throughout the semester to complete nursing, functional, and social assessments. These include life-story interviews, in-depth functional evaluations, and conversations centered on “what matters most” in each resident’s care and daily life. The project aligns with the nationally recognized Age-Friendly Health Systems “4Ms” framework — What Matters, Medication, Mobility, and Mentation.  

As a final assignment, students produce a short reflective video profiling their consultant, highlighting health status, lifestyle, values, and lessons learned, and how the experience reshaped their perceptions of aging and older adulthood.

“It gets students thinking about aging beyond what they might see with patients who have severe chronic illness and who live in a nursing home, because although that is an aspect of being a geriatric nurse, there is a lot more to the older adult population,” says Julianne Murthi, clinical assistant professor of nursing. “Across the board, the experiences have been very positive and enjoyable, and they promote intergenerational learning that truly goes both ways. The residents at RiverWoods really value that as well.”

Nursing student Caroline Graham says the course gave her a unique opportunity to get to know her consultant and build on her interpersonal skills.

“In clinical, you’re focused on what needs to get done — getting vitals, head-to-toe assessments — but this was an opportunity to get to know someone,” Graham says. “It was nice to hear about her experiences, advice, and outlook on life. It changed how I think about my future and how I value the people around me.”

Claire Jaroszewicz says visiting RiverWoods changed her perceptions about aging.

“The biggest thing was not judging people based on their age,” Jaroszewicz says. “She was super active and involved, and I went in not expecting that. It really challenges stereotypes about older adults and that population.”

Building Additional Collaborations

John Wilcox, clinical associate professor of occupational therapy, has developed several long-standing collaborations with RiverWoods. Through his course, Enabling Participation in Community Groups, occupational therapy students lead brain health, wellness, and technology support groups for RiverWoods residents.  

“The students consistently say it’s one of the best experiences they have because they’re able to use their OT skills, get out of the classroom, and work directly with real people. And, of course, the seniors love it too because of that intergenerational connection,” Wilcox says.  

Wilcox also coordinates the Senior Ambassador Project, a summer course in which doctoral occupational therapy students partner with older adults in the community — including many from RiverWoods — to conduct cognitive screenings, fall prevention assessments, and aging-in-place evaluations. This spring, the partnership expanded further with a capstone project focused on supporting caregivers of individuals with dementia.  

Beyond teaching and clinical placements, the expanded partnership is also creating new opportunities for collaborative research focused on aging and long-term care.  

Jing Wang, assistant professor of nursing, says the goal is to move beyond individual, project-based collaborations toward a more coordinated and sustainable research partnership between CHHS and RiverWoods.  

A key part of that effort involves RiverWoods residents helping shape research initiatives. Faculty are working to establish a resident advisory group to provide feedback as projects develop, ensuring that studies address community needs from the earliest stages.  

“Some of the residents are retired UNH faculty who want to contribute,” Wang says. “We can gather feedback to help shape our research ideas and continue involving them as those ideas develop into grants, proposals, or projects that truly benefit RiverWoods residents and improve long-term care. It also allows us to design research based on the perspectives of the people who will ultimately use it, while creating meaningful research and professional development opportunities for our students.”  

The partnership has already supported research, including a project exploring robotic technology for dementia, in which RiverWoods residents tested a socially assistive robot.  

New projects being explored include improving communication among assisted living staff, residents with dementia, and family members using AI-supported platforms designed to enhance information sharing without increasing staff workload.  

“The collaboration has helped Riverwoods strengthen innovation, develop future talent, and remain connected to emerging best practices and ideas,” Belanger says. “The intergenerational opportunities students and residents have been incredibly rewarding.”  

Zunz agrees, noting that many RiverWoods residents — including retired faculty — enjoy remaining engaged with the university community through activities both at RiverWoods and on campus.  

“I think one of the reasons why a lot of people want to live here is the benefit of being in a college town,” Zunz says. “There’s a lot to do in the community and a lot happening with UNH."

Additionally, for the students, establishing relationships at RiverWoods is a good way to get their foot in the door. There are currently more than 40 UNH alumni working at Riverwoods.