With the over-85 age group becoming one of the fastest-growing demographics in American society, improving quality of life for the elderly is a national priority. That’s why Pintas & Mullins established the Quality of Life Scholarship worth $2,500. This year’s winner is Thomas Hallman.
Hallman wrote about his grandfather’s decline in health in his winning essay. Chief among the regrets Hallman espoused is that he didn’t take enough time during his teenage years to show his grandfather love, honor, and compassion. Instead, he wrote, he “forgot about him, ignored his inconveniencing existence.”
This is the core mindset that must be challenged, according to Hallman. Many young people are uncomfortable around the concept of aging.
To encapsulate his notion of improving the lives of the elderly, Hallman remarked that “doing right by our elders means, at minimum, giving them our presence, attention, and compassion—in short, our loyalty.”
Thomas Hallman’s Three Steps to Improve Quality of Life
As a recent graduate of Houghton College, Hallman majored in Christian Theology. He is an incoming student of Asbury Theological Seminary as well, where he will no doubt contemplate and learn about ministering to diverse communities. All of this has led to a threefold solution put forward by Hallman in his winning essay.
The first step toward improving the quality of life for the elderly is, he wrote, to “press into our family loyalties.” Teaching children to honor and respect their grandparents is a way to establish respect and compassion for the elderly in general.
Next, Hallman suggests pressing into local communities. These can be religious groups, school settings, workplaces, or even simply the neighborhoods in which we live. Performing activities and establishing relationships with people of all age groups can help bridge the gap and show elderly folks they are valued.
Finally, Hallman notes that many elderly people live in isolated communities, such as nursing homes. He suggests reaching out to those communities by engaging in activities (game nights at the nursing home, singing Christmas carols, etc.).
“Instead of depending on the elderly to come to us, we ought to go to them,” he wrote. The $2,500 scholarship award will no doubt help Hallman to gain his seminary degree and enter into a world of teaching and ministry, furthering his ideas toward improving the lives of older generations.
About the Pintas & Mullins Quality of Life Scholarship
Pintas & Mullins established the Quality of Life Scholarship to encourage students to think about ways to improve the lives of the elderly. As personal injury attorneys, the lawyers at the firm have decades of experience helping elderly folks in cases that involve nursing home abuse, neglect, medical malpractice, and more.
The firm was impressed with Hallman’s candor about his regrets in the way he treated his grandfather, as well as his in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding our society’s treatment of the elderly. Pintas & Mullins is proud to offer financial support to students who are dedicated to making all our lives, and our culture, that much better.
You can read Hallman’s winning essay by clicking on this link.