There are adult education programs, and then there is something called the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. This program, called "OLLI" for short, is providing hundreds of eager grownup students with a huge cafeteria of fascinating and fun instruction.
The OLLI program began as "The Senior Connection" at FSU 35 years ago. One of its biggest fans is retired lawyer Kent Putnam. He's had more than a few OLLI courses over the last 13 years.
"I would guess at least 100."
Although he acknowledges there are folks who've taken even more than that. And since Tallahassee is a college town, Putnam likes the chance to learn from some of the top experts in their fields.
"The biggest selling point for me is the instructors. They tend to be very wise (and) very entertaining. We don't have any tests or papers. We just learn and it's very inspiring."
Putnam was so inspired, he's been named OLLI's new president. Meanwhile, the organization's Director since 2011 has been Debra Herman. In addition to all the courses, she says OLLI is an exciting new chapter in lots of peoples' lives.
"All their lives they've been in a career. Now there's time to discover things that they want to learn, so it's great. I talked to somebody the other day and she had tears in her eyes and she said, 'I feel so at home now in Tallahassee. For years I've lived here and I didn't have any friends and now I feel connected.' People say OLLI has saved their lives because they didn't know what to do."
The COVID pandemic changed many things, including the format for OLLI's classroom-based courses, as Kent Putnam explains.
"And some of the classes are hybrid where the instructor has figured out a way to lecture live as well as broadcast it over Zoom."
Director Herman says many OLLI courses are taught off campus entirely. Remote learning sites now include Westminster Oaks and numerous other local retirement communities, as well as the Challenger Learning Center and Temple Israel. Director Herman says some classes travel to locations all over the region. Here's just one example.
"We're going out and we're going to the seaside. We're going in a boat and we're going to be engaging in marine life."
There are even trips to other countries. Herman she says this year's lineup of activities is particularly enticing.
"We have a lot of free events that are coming up because this is our 35th anniversary year."
