Annie Stull ’20 and Jessica Rodriguez ’21 Bring the Spirit of Thanksgiving to Residents of Penn Yan Manor

The Keuka College student senators held a card-signing event to brighten the residents’ day.


Friday, November 15, 2019

We’ve heard of Christmas coming early, but Thanksgiving?

That was the case this week at Penn Yan Manor, where residents of the assisted living facilitywere surprised by a batch of seasonal well-wishes, courtesy of a Keuka College duo.

Keuka College students Jessica Rodriguez ’21 and Annie Stull ’20 each serve as senators-at-largeon the College’s Student Senate. Part of their responsibility is to hold a campus-wide event eachsemester, so the two teamed up and held a card-making get-togetherto create cards for Penn Yan Manor residents.

Theidea for creating Thanksgiving Day cards came from a similar event Annie held last year, one that sent some Valentine’s Day love to those residing at Penn Yan Manor. 

“It was a huge hit, and I thought it would be great to do something to benefit that community again,” says Annie, a dual major in business management and history and political science, with a marketing concentration. 

Creatingthe Thanksgiving Day cards brought out their inner child in the 23 participating studentsas they used construction paper, markers, and crayons to decorate their cards. They also added little messages and thoughts—such as “Have a great holiday,” “Happy New Year,”and“we are thankful for you”—meant to brighten the day of the recipient.

“I delivered the cards to Penn Yan Manor, and the staff was ecstatic to receive our cards once again!” says Ann. “I would love to continue this tradition next semester as well as do cards for Valentine’sDay.”

In total, 55 cards were created and were distributed on Friday, Nov. 15.