(left to right) OLLI members Jet Vertz and Perry Howard during an Institute meeting. Photo by Kayla Michaud.
With over 1,400 members, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is proof that you’re never too old to go to school.
OLLI provides adults over 50 and better with learning opportunities in a fun environment. Classes range from understanding and performing Shakespeare, topics in ecology, chair yoga and ice skating.
According to Beth Leconte, executive director of OLLI at the University of Rhode Island, OLLI is really the joy of learning for curious minds.
“Sometimes you read, but there’s no test,” said Leconte. “If you come to a class and haven’t read it’s okay [because] there’s no grades.”
No prior education of any kind is required either to partake in classes or programs. The only thing required is a desire to learn and meet new people.
In addition to classes, OLLI also offers special interest groups and trips. Some special interest groups include Aging: Living Well, Biking, Book and Movie groups and Great Decisions: Foreign Policy Discussion.
However, OLLI is more than just a place to learn for many of the members; it’s also a place to socialize in different environments, make new friends and enjoy retirement.
“It looked like a fantastic opportunity to enjoy retirement as an adult enjoying education,” Perry Howard, a member and volunteer, said.
Leconte believes that OLLI gives members more of a purpose and helps break them out of a repetitive daily routine.
“We, as a staff, pride ourselves in building relationships with our members,” Leconte said. “It’s a safe place. It’s a gathering place and perhaps more than often it’s one of their purposes why they get up every day.”
According to several of the members and staff, what really makes the program worthwhile is the people. With so many different learning opportunities and trips, there’s something for everyone, but Member Peter Bristol expressed how much he enjoys the people who are there with him.
“It’s not necessarily the walk,” Bristol said. “It’s the people on the walk. My background is in natural areas, natural subjects and it’s nice to be walking through the woods, but most people like to talk. It’s a good social exercise.”
Many of the members also teach classes or volunteer. Evelyn Flatley and Bristol are two examples of members who volunteer every Friday. They come in to help out with whatever needs to be done in the office, whether that is making copies, answering the phone or setting up for events. For them the best part of volunteering is the fun they have working with each other.
“I really enjoy volunteering,” Flately said. “I’m here every Friday morning with Peter and we have a really good time.”
OLLI is also a great place for people to teach their own classes. Many of the instructors are retired high school or college teachers, several of which taught at URI. Some members also prepare classes to teach as well.
Jet Vertz is one of the members who takes classes and teaches. Vertz teaches a class called “Purpose Driven Retirement Bucket List.” In this class, Vertz encourages members to create their own bucket list. For him, this inspired him to write his own memoir and a book about this class he teaches.
“I am not a writer, so for me to write a book is way of my boundaries as an engineer,” Vertz said. “But it certainly opened the door for me to do something I’m beyond capable of and used to doing.”
OLLI offers a traditional lecture and discussion environment but also hands-on and collaborative ones as well, catering toward all different learning styles.
A few upcoming trips include Memphis and Nashville, the Boston Flower Show and the Atlantic Canada International Tattoo Festival.
A yearlong membership costs $65. From there, members can register for the classes in which they’re interested in for an additional fee. Some classes and programs meet once while others will meet several times. More information on OLLI can be found at web.uri.edu/ollil.