Echoes of Needham’s Past to Find Digital Home

December 19, 2025
• Motivated by a student competition, a group of high schoolers aim to chronicle the lives of older Needhamites.

When a group of Needham High School students walked into the Center at the Heights cafeteria Wednesday morning, recording equipment in hand, they received some curious glances. The senior residents, finishing up a round of bingo and considering lunch, puzzled over their presence.

As they plugged in microphones and locked their phones into tripods, their mission became clear: The students were there to speak with them.

Echo Needham set out to capture the voices and stories of local seniors, and in doing so, better understand their lives and bridge a generational gap that separates them. The students behind the effort will preserve the conversations via a YouTube page.

The experiences and memories they share could also serve as a viewable time capsule of the town’s identity, junior Eric Ayrumyan said.

“If you have the senior citizens share some of those unique [anecdotes] to Needham, then that younger generation who maybe haven’t experienced them yet, or people who are just moving to Needham recently, they would get more involved and make sure that that doesn’t really disappear,” he said.

The six-person cohort hopes to compile the interviews, along with other materials, to enter the Future Problem Solving Program International, a competition where students are challenged to solve a global or local issue.

In the course of their research for the competition, they found that older people carry with them wisdom and experience that may be “lost to time” if not archived, freshman Alex Shaigorodsky said.

“We are providing a means to share those stories and have somewhere to view them for the future,” Shaigorodsky said.

The students asked those at the CATH about how Needham has changed — some feel the cost of living has increased substantially, homes have become unaffordable for young families and a once close-knit community has somewhat faded. One person remarked they feel the “American dream” is effectively dead.

But captured in those conversations is a thread of hope for a younger generation, one that has technology “part of your DNA” and perhaps has the ability to face challenges head-on.

Their interviews — with veterans, former tennis players, community organizers and others — are the first in a series they aim to conduct over the coming months.

Aicha Kelley, assistant director of programming and transportation at the Council on Aging, said she was impressed with the project participation on Wednesday. Some more inclusive events, such as all-ages dinners, haven’t been very popular, she said. A couple hundred people visit the center every day.

Intergenerational activities and conversations foster “mutual respect,” she said. “It just puts a whole ‘nother feeling in the building,” she added.

“They’ve got great stories to tell, and they’re interested in the younger kids too,” Kelley said of the center’s attendees. “I feel like there are so many lessons, and instead of being intimidated or scared or put off or think they don’t care, truly, a cup of coffee, a smile and a 10-minute chat will make a huge difference.”

After her second interview with a local senior, freshman Michelle Meyerson said she thinks the open dialogue “patches a disconnect” between generations. She learned that their views on education, including the need to go to college, may not align with her own generation’s, but she views the conversations as valuable because of those differences.

Meyerson said they feel this generational divide to be among the biggest problems facing the Needham community.

Each student sat with a list of printed questions about housing, local traditions, technology, personal struggles, finances, community and misunderstandings among the generations. Some interviews ran for about 10 minutes, while another lasted for well over half an hour.

“It was nice living in this town,” one person said.

“You saw your neighbors, go to one another’s house freely. You didn’t have to be dropped off all the time,” another said of their childhood.

When Meyerson asked one interview subject for advice she’d give to young people, she said “Be a good person.”

Once they asked the questions, the answers started to flow.

“I think it’s gonna serve as a [much-needed] medium,” Ayrumyan said of the project.