Sheila Bogan is currently the communications intern at the American Cancer Society in Vermont, as well as an administrative assistant at the Office of Admission at St. Michael's College, where she is earning her BA in Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts (Class of 2015). She is from Poughkeepsie, New York where she has lived with her dad, sister, and grandparents since 2002. Sheila is extremely passionate about writing and considers herself to be a storyteller who utilizes a multitude of mediums to share her thoughts with the world. From blogging to news reporting, she has done it all. While she was photo editor of The Defender at St. Michael’s College, she interviewed an Emmy-award-winning film editor from Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Sheila absolutely loves to travel, especially after spending a semester abroad in London during the spring of 2014. She hopes to write for magazine in New York City someday and would love to continue working for nonprofit organizations that promote good health, tolerance, equality, and acceptance in the global community. When she’s not trying to change the world, you can probably find her snuggled up with a good book and her cat Shadow. She wants to dedicate her work on this film to her grandparents- Isobel, James, Anna, and Herbert- and Peggy, a very special woman who embodied love and enchanted the world with her kindness.

Twitter: @imjustsheila, Email: sbogan@mail.smcvt.edu
 

 

Lauren Kopchik, also from Poughkeepsie, New York, is an independent media producer with an interest in under-reported social issues. Previous film productions include short videos, one of them about the benefits of Tai Chi for elderly and multi-ethnic communities. Her past work in other mediums include web design for the Emily Post Institute's Etiquette Daily and continued work as a student ambassador, blogger, and social media contributor for Saint Michael's College. She spent her Spring 2014 semester in Rabat, Morocco, where she contributed to the student-run news site Reporting Morocco and worked as a freelance journalist reporting on issues regarding single mothers and illegitimate children. Her interest in aging as a journalistic opportunity was first formed while doing a favor for a friend--photographing a "Senior Prom" event where the crowned King and Queen were both beyond their 60s. However, she owes her experiences with learning about aging to her great-grandmother and four grandparents, who always taught her to treat people of all generations and abilities with mutual love and respect. She dedicates this film to their memory.

 

Twitter: @LaurenKopchik, Email: lkopchik@mail.smcvt.edu