Page 13 - YC360 Spring 2021 Edition

Community
and Connection
during COVID
OLLI & Comm Ed classes offer “a meeting of minds”
By Michael Grady
When Jerry and Bev Thurber moved to Prescott last year, they had no idea how to make friends. “We got here during the lockdown,” Jerry laughs. “We still don’t know what our movers looked like. They all wore masks. Then we thought, ‘How are we going to get out?’”
COVID-19 has proven especially difficult on newcomers, seniors and folks living alone. But people seeking companionship and intellectual challenge can still find an invigorating connection through YC’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) or Community Education classes, available county-wide on Zoom.
Revving up for Zoom
“We still find people who haven’t heard about us yet,” Prescott’s OLLI/Lifelong Learning Coordinator Tricia Berlowe said. “Or people who don’t know about the improvements we’ve made on Zoom.”
Yavapai College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is one of 124 grant-funded community college programs designed to provide learning experiences for students 50 years old or older. YC’s Community Education program features non-credit leisure and lifestyle classes for all adults. Both programs have become valued touchstones, offering more than 771 online classes and workshops since the pandemic began.
“We have everything you could want,” Verde/Sedona OLLI Director Linda Shook says. “We help people acclimate to Zoom. You can learn it on our YouTube channel, or on a PowerPoint we send you.” Comm Ed also has a class in Zoom (“Zoomin’ for Boomers”). Don’t have a computer? “Our libraries have loan programs for laptops.” Shook says.
Reinventing the Classroom
OLLI and Comm Ed have re-invented themselves for remote learning. “We had to re-think our class design,” Berlowe said. They reduced class sizes. Comm Ed’s painting and writing faculty now use a multi-camera setup. Adventure Trips have been converted
ROLLI facilitator Ustadza Azra leads a Bellydancing class on Zoom.
New Arizonans and Prescott OLLI members Bev & Jerry Thurber.
to long-form Adventure Videos. The new format broadens their catalog, too – Prescott OLLI and Comm Ed courses are now available to Verde Valley students, and vice-versa.
In classes, the results have been dramatic. “People are seeing and hearing each other better,” Berlowe says. “Maybe if it’s the comfort of attending from your own space. But facilitators tell us even the introverts are participating in discussions more. I think it’s the connection people are craving.”
For the Thurbers, the courses have been a game-changer. “We’re really impressed with how smoothly it runs.” Bev says. They credit OLLI with helping them feel at home. “We take one or two classes every semester, plus they have a monthly book group and a weekly trivia group that are fun.” They’ve studied local history to learn the area, and taken general education classes. “You get to know people with diverse interests in the classes, and because you see many of the same people, you feel like you’re making friends,” she says. “It definitely is a meeting of active minds.”
To learn more about Prescott-area OLLI courses, call (928) 717-7634 or visit: www.yc.edu/v6/lifelong-learning
To learn more about the Sedona/Verde Valley OLLI program, call (928) 649-4275 or visit: www.yc.edu/ollisedonaverde
SPRING 2021 | ISSUE 7 13
OLLI