Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to join my fellow photojournalism students on the third floor of Franklin Hall to honor and commemorate our grandparents. Families and friends were invited to attend and view the outcomes of countless hours spent on the various projects.

As part of a class assignment, my professor—David LaBelle, director of photojournalism at Kent State—assigned students to create a visual presentation honoring grandparents.

LaBelle presented us with the opportunity to honor, remember and—in some cases—discover each others’ grandparents. Some of us were raised by them while others only know about them through the pictures, videos and stories they heard from their family members.

Through the process of developing our individual projects, we each had to get to know—really get to know—our grandparents. It was an emotional, entertaining, somber and bittersweet experience for us.

Although this was added to the curriculum of our classes, the word “assignment” isn’t necessarily the right word to use for the project.

For me, going through and creating a presentation of memories brought up the chance to share how much of an integral part of my life my own grandmother was. If my classmates’ experiences were anything like my own, this grandparent project grew to mean more to me as I invested further and deeper into the process of completing it.

By the end of the evening—after tears and laughter—participants and audience members left with a newfound knowledge of just how much of an impact grandparents can have in the lives of their grandchildren.

sam_place from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Meghan Dues-Advice from my Grandparentsmov from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Kelly Powell from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Grandparents – Small from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Home – Small from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Grandparentsproject_TierraThomas from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

GrandparentProject_Katrinchak from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

GrandparentNoMusic from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Grandma Final from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Christina Kenney Grandparents from KentWired.com on Vimeo.