High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : They Have Youth on Their Side : Education: Residents of Freedom Village retirement center make friends with teen workers, who also benefit from scholarships.

Many people believe teen-agers and senior citizens don’t understand one another because their respective generations are too far apart, too different. But residents of Freedom Village, a retirement center on the other side of the San Diego Freeway from Leisure World, think otherwise.

“These kids support our faith in our country and our lives,” said Josephine Wiser, a resident of Freedom Village. “Their bright, shining faces are pleasant, but they also serve the purpose of validating what we’ve tried to do (with scholarships).”

Those scholarships, which are awarded every every year to graduating high school students who work in Freedom Village’s dining room or coffee shop, are funded by the center’s residents.

The scholarship fund was established in 1989 by Wiser as an effort to recognize potential, develop responsibility and provide incentive for the student employees. “I was really quite impressed with their work in the dining room,” said Wiser, who said she wanted to reward the teens.

Four student workers are honored with scholarships at the end of each school year. This past June, Cindy Brown and Lindy McClellan each received the Wiser Memorial Scholarship, which is an initial award of $1,000, plus $500 each year while they remain full-time college students. Melissa Beck and Caisa Rehart each received onetime scholarships of $500.

Brown, who graduated from Mission Viejo High School, attends the University of San Francisco, where she is majoring in business. “I’m grateful to each Freedom Village resident who made this scholarship program possible,” she said.

McClellan, who also graduated from Mission Viejo, is studying musical theater at Brigham Young University. She has been a featured singer at several Freedom Village functions since she began working there two years ago.

“I enjoy the opportunity to meet many different and interesting people. The personal touch is the best part of working here,” said McClellan, who plans to return to work during winter break and summer vacation. “I never really understood older people before. I was afraid of growing older, but now I’m looking forward to it.”

Beck, who graduated from Capistrano Valley High, is using her scholarship money to attend classes at UC Riverside, and Rehart, another Mission Viejo graduate, goes to Saddleback College while continuing her duties at Freedom Village.

“It’s very hard work and the pressure can be terrible,” Rehart said of her waitress job. “You’re always feeling rushed to serve as quickly as possible, and you worry about having an accident or running into people.”

But Louise Rigby, a Freedom Village resident, has a different perspective of the teen workers, perhaps reflective of a slower pace.

“The kids are always working at a fast pace, and sometimes they accidentally spill things,” she said. “They need to remember to take their time.”

Though the students take their jobs seriously, there is also time for humor.

Rose Lint, a resident who serves on the governing council at Freedom Village, remembered when, “at a request by a resident for iced coffee, the waitress brought a cup of hot coffee surrounded by ice cubes on the saucer.”

Added Wiser: “And (the teens are) incredibly bad at singing ‘Happy Birthday.’ ”

The closeness between the teen-age staff and Freedom Village residents make all feel part of the family.

Lint said residents “who are far from their grandchildren develop a satisfying relationship with the young people.”

It’s become a tradition at Prom time that the teen workers stop by Freedom Village on their way to their dances with their dates in tow to say hello.

“My relationship with the residents is what’s keeping me working at Freedom Village,” Rehart said. “There are a couple of residents who are always eager to hear what is going on in my life at school and at home.”