Member Spotlight

Q&A with Kate de Medeiros, PhD from Oxford, Ohio.

Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: Like many people in the field, I came into gerontology in a rather round about way.  I was working on my master’s degree in Medical Humanities, with Tom Cole as my mentor.  Since I was also working full-time and, at the time, had infant twin boys, I came to a cross roads where I considered withdrawing from the program to focus more on work and home.  Tom, knowing that my undergraduate degree was in literature, asked me if I would consider taking an independent study with him to develop a writing workshop for older adults.  Although I wasn’t really interested, and was actually a bit frightened at the idea of working with older people, I agreed.  I remember that after researching and putting together a curriculum for the writing workshop, I was extremely nervous on that first day that the workshop met.  I was certain that no one would show up, that people wouldn’t respond well to what I had put together, and that all of the stories would be about sadness and loneliness.  By the end of the workshop, I knew that I was wrong about all my assumptions.  I immediately switched my focus to aging and have always been glad that I did.  The work that I did in that independent study with Tom Cole has remained an important part of my research.  After completing my PhD some years later, I was awarded a Brookdale Leadership in Aging Fellowship to further develop what I call “Self Stories,” and conducted a randomized controlled trial to test its effectiveness in improving autobiographical memory in old age.  I have also pursued narrative gerontology as a method of inquiry and, with the help of Robert Rubinstein, another important mentor for me, have explored the many ways that narrative approaches can be used in research settings.

Q: What has been your most memorable experience in gerontology and aging research?
A: I think my most memorable experience in gerontology was at a GSA meeting in San Diego several years ago when I was a student.  I had a poster about some research I had completed related to my interest in life story writing and older age.  James Birren came up to my poster and talked with me for several minutes about my approach, which was to use various genres as a way to get people to narrate different moments from their lives, rather than to conduct a life review or to create a master narrative.  Among other things, he asked me how I managed to be able to enroll so many men in my workshops.  I was talking with gerontology royalty, and I was very grateful that someone of his level, prestige and importance would spend so much time with me, a student. 

Q: Tell us a little about your most recent activities/accomplishments? 
A: I recently joined the faculty at Miami University, and am working on further developing my interest in and approach to narrative gerontology.  I have also been working hard with the humanities and arts committee to promote humanities and arts scholarship within GSA.

Q: Do you have any tips for emerging gerontologists?
A: Networking is so important.  GSA meetings are ideal for being able to have face-to-face discussions with gerontologists who are doing cutting edge work.  I have found that most people are quite accessible and willing to talk with students, and certainly most are very interested in seeing gerontology continue to grow.

Q: Have you had an important mentor in your career? If so, how did it make a difference?
A: Robert Rubinstein, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), has been an extremely important mentor for me.  Dr. Rubinstein introduced me to a variety of important, interdisciplinary perspectives as well as training me in qualitative research.  During my first few weeks in the doctoral program in gerontology at UMBC, Dr. Rubinstein gave me a list of books (e.g., Berger & Luckman’s Social Construction of Reality, Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth, Eliot Mishler’s Research Interviewing, and Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji) and asked me if I had read them.  I had not.  He told me to come back when I had.  I did.  Just as Tom Cole had introduced me to the field of aging, Bob Rubinstein introduced me to a world of critical thinking.