1. Medley 1
Chelsie Medley
Mrs. Lester
Advanced Grammar and Composition
March 9, 2012
Senior Project Speech
When you reach a certain age and can no longer take care of yourself and you have no
family to take care of you, where do you go? Last year I was able to be a part of a group that
went to an assisted living home to sing and entertain the residents. As we sung, I looked around
the room at the expressionless faces staring back at me. I couldn’t help but think to myself that
this had to be the worst audience ever. However, When I went to talk to the residents, all I heard
was positive feedback such as how much they loved the music but most of all, the young faces.
This experience, of course, was how I got my idea for my senior project. My senior project was
organizing the entertainment for the day at an assisted living home. Although my research paper
focuses on planning events and the time and effort it takes to make an event successful, I chose
this topic because of the chance to interact and meet new people. Now I will explain the process
I used to find my project facilitator and form my event.
I had to first select a project facilitator who was good with people, had good event ideas,
and has experience with planning events. I took into consideration a few people who had these
qualities and were also easy to get in touch with and ended up choosing my facilitator, Jordan-
Lee Spencer. Jordan majored in communication and psychology at Auburn University. She has
also started a girl’s ministry for the youth at my church and has planned many events involving
the ministry such as retreats and various activities. Since Jordan and I were both new to the
senior project, we met for the first time and went over the requirements for the project. From

2. Medley 2
there we came up with the idea of a performance for the elders. At this point, we still did not
have a place to perform but we did know what we were going to do. Jordan and I then had to find
a date that we were both available so that we could meet and make a list of people we wanted to
perform. We made a list of 20 people and 12 were able to perform. I called and talked to each
performer and asked them to come up with three song selections that they wanted to sing. Once I
had the performers, I started to search for assisted living homes nearby. When I found the one I
wanted, I called and told them what my project was about and they were thrilled with the idea. A
date was set and I was now able to create the fliers that would be placed on announcement
boards around the home. I also made a smaller version of the flier to put in their individual mail
boxes as a reminder for them. With the event one week away, I received calls from six of the
performers who canceled due to the upcoming winter break. I was now down to six performers
and an hour allotted for the event. I knew I needed something to fill in the extra time so I started
to research different ideas. After two days of research, I finally had the idea of music trivia. I
called the assisted living home and spoke with the person who organizes the entertainment and I
asked her what years the residents would be familiar with music wise. She told me that many of
them would know the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I then went online and searched for popular songs and
artists throughout that time. With one day left until the event, my facilitator Jordan and I met to
make sure we had all of the equipment we needed for the event. We gathered together a
microphone, a radio, and an Elvis costume. We were planning on my brother being able to wear
the costume and talk to the residents but he was too tall for it so we had to change our ideas.
Later that day, I called to remind the performers that the event was the following day and three
more people canceled on me! At this point I was frustrated and worried that the event would not
succeed. On the day of the event, I went to church that morning and I had a few people to ask me

3. Medley 3
how my project was going and many of them told me that they heard about my event and
wondered if it was too late to participate. In the end, I had 12 performers and three extras to
attend the event. Since I was going to be speaking to the audience, I asked the three people who
were not performing to take pictures and videotape the event. Once all of the performers had
performed, I called the event to a close and many of the residents did not want us to leave so we
stayed after for about 30 minutes to socialize with the elders.
Throughout this experience, I have gained the ability to communicate well with strangers,
express my ideas to others, and how to manage my time wisely. I am a step closer to overcoming
my fear of speaking in front of crowds and I now realize how much time and effort it takes in
planning an event. As a result of this project, I have been welcomed back to the assisted living
home to bring entertainment and young faces. I was also offered a job as a waitress once I turn
18 to come back and work with the elders. The job pays well and is a short commute to and
from. I accepted the offer and I am scheduled to start this summer. Although I enjoyed being
able to get a glimpse into event planning, I do not think I will go into this field of work in the
future. I have decided instead to take a year off of school to work at the assisted living home and
then go into training to earn my emergency medical technician certificate and then work my way
up to become a first response paramedic so that I can work with car accidents and help people
when they need it the most. Thank you for your time and attention.