Spokane Students 4 Seniors is putting the skills of tech-savvy students to use, teaching technology to seniors in the community.

After a brief testing period in 2014, founder Angela Quadry decided in May of this year to start the business, which is a sole proprietorship that she hopes to convert into a limited liability corporation.

“Seniors are smart and catch on pretty quickly. It’s just that sometimes they need a little extra time and explanation,” she says. “By seniors, I don’t particularly mean really elderly, but any older adult who hasn’t spent time catching up with technology.”

Originally from the Tri-Cities area, Quadry moved to Spokane in the early ’90s. She says she started the business as a way for her son Ethan to earn money and gain job experience before starting college.

“I was a nurse at Sacred Heart for a few years, but left that work to focus on my children,” she says. “However, I did work with a lot of seniors in that job, so I became familiar with their needs.”

Quadry operates Spokane Students 4 Seniors as a mobile business, using her cellphone to manage students’ appointments with seniors. The business employs about six local college students on a part-time, as-needed basis to visit seniors’ homes and teach them how to use digital devices.

She charges about $35 a visit, with teaching visits usually lasting about an hour. Seniors also have the option to meet in small groups of two or three people and share the cost of a visit. 

Because the business is so new, it’s not profitable yet, but Quadry says she hopes it will get there, particularly if it’s able to grow to include other cities, as she would like to see happen. 

“I wanted to keep it simple, so the majority of our fee goes toward paying the students, with the remainder covering advertising, as we really don’t have much in the way of other business expenses or overhead,” she says. 

Most of the students she works with are taking classes through Gonzaga University or one of Spokane’s community colleges, having heard about the business either from other students or through advertisements she placed on area campuses. 

 “It’s a win-win situation for both students and seniors,” she asserts. “Students get a flexible job that pays well, and seniors get an affordable way of learning new technology.”

The business gets most of its customers through referrals, advertising in newsletters, and postings in public places, such as libraries and bakeries. 

Quadry also speaks with activity directors at independent living facilities and senior centers, offering them presentations or free classes. 

Interested seniors are encouraged to call the business’s main line and leave a detailed message about what kind of technology they would like help using. Quadry then determines which of her students would be a good fit for the circumstances and arranges for them to work with the senior. 

“Each student has their niche,” she says. “Some really like working with certain devices. Others have a distinct style of teaching, and it all depends on the senior’s needs.”

Quadry says a Pew Research Center study conducted in 2014 on older adults and technology usage reported a significant majority of older adults say they need assistance when it comes to using new digital devices.

According to the study, 18 percent of seniors indicated they would feel comfortable learning a new device on their own, while 77 percent said they would need someone to help walk them through the process. 

“Many seniors who don’t use the Internet figure they’re not really missing anything,” she says. “But when they start to use it, they realize right away just how much they really are missing out on.”

Quadry soon will start a new position as Spokane County Mental Health’s project coordinator, but previously volunteered full-time as South Hill condo president for Ferris Garden Court Condominiums, a position that she says enlightened her further as to the needs of seniors.

“Some seniors ended up missing out on information because they didn’t have email,” she says. “I didn’t like seeing people at a disadvantage because they hadn’t yet learned a certain technology.”

Jean Auerbach, a retired real estate agent and two-time Peace Corps volunteer, says she has found the business useful for learning how use a device for purposes other than work. 

“I’d used a computer for my job, but not much else,” says Auerbach. “Learning at your own pace is always less intimidating than taking a class, and you can’t beat personal service.”

Mariah Merchant, a student at Spokane Community Colleges, who is working toward a certificate in echocardiography, is Auerbach’s student teacher. 

On working with seniors and technology she says, “I really enjoy seeing how much more the seniors are able to get out of learning one on one. It’s so much more helpful than what they can get from a large class.” 

Quadry says some of the most common devices seniors wish to learn how to use include laptops, tablets, and televisions. 

“With some of the media available for devices, it’s pretty common that we help people set up newer equipment and teach them how to use it,” she says. 

One device she hopes to encourage more seniors to use is the smartphone. 

“Not many use smartphones, and I think part of it could just be that the text is too small to read easily,” she says. “What they don’t realize are all the ways in which smartphones can help them retain independence.”

She says smartphones can offer seniors options like online banking, and applications that remind them when to take medication or even where they parked their car.

“These are tools that can make things just a bit easier and improve quality of life,” she says.

Quadry says the business isn’t set up for fixing tech issues or repairing devices. 

“Our main goals are to empower and teach. We don’t want customers to be too dependent on us,” she says.

Caleb Ybarra, 22, has been working with Students 4 Seniors since it opened in May. Ybarra plans to begin general courses online through Brigham Young University this fall and hopes to earn a degree in early childhood education, as well as teaching.   

“I would say it has benefits for both students and seniors, for sure,” he says. “For myself, it’s been an excellent opportunity to meet a lot of new people and continue to practice teaching skills.” 

According to Quadry, the program currently is focused on serving customers in South Hill neighborhoods, but she hopes to expand to include Spokane Valley, north Spokane, and eventually other cities. 

“The biggest thing is keeping costs low for seniors,” she says. “Once we’re able to get the word out, perhaps we can spend less on advertising and reduce the price of services.”