Colby McCaskill, a senior at Fordham University, was named the Grand Prize Winner of the NPR College Podcast Challenge for his deeply personal audio documentary exploring his grandparents’ experiences with aging and dementia. NPR judges singled out the piece for its intimacy and vulnerability in telling the story of a family learning to navigate difficult conversations.
Colby McCaskill was visiting from New York, where he’s finishing up his senior year at Fordham University. He grabbed a gold colored pencil and joined them. “How long have you been working on this coloring book?” he asked his grandmother. “A lot of time,” she said, laughing. “I love doing it.”
This is not what past visits used to look like, when his grandparents would color with him. Now, his grandparents are aging and changing. Caregiving roles are shifting. When Colby was growing up, his Papa worked as a healthcare executive and his Grammy was a teacher. They were always adventuring and telling stories — about 100-mile bike rides and skiing double black diamonds. Now they live one day at a time, navigating cancer and dementia. Colby, who recently turned 21, has struggled to square this new reality.
To deal with all those feelings, Colby made what he calls an audio letter to his grandfather. Dear Papa, the epistolary begins, “It’s hard to admit because it feels like there’s no solution, but I really wish you and Grammy weren’t growing so old.”
