Long live learning
Diane Wheeler attends class without any homework or any tests.
After a 40-year career, she was looking a new cause to which to devote her time. She found the answer in the Osher Lifetime Learning Institute’s (OLLI) Vestavia affiliate.
“There’s a crowd of us done with things we have to do who are getting to do things we want to do,” she said.
As it name suggests, OLLI is designed for people who want to be lifelong learners. The national program’s affiliates offer a variety of courses based on what interests its membership, from local history to travel.
The Vestavia affiliate began last year through the University of Alabama system and quickly grew to more than 200 members who were interested in programs with increasing depth. Classes meet at the Vestavia Library in the Forest and Vestavia Senior Center.
“It took off like wildfire,” Wheeler said. “It’s something you can experience and enjoy to expand your worldview.”
This fall semester OLLI is offering 17 individual sessions. Participants can attend as many or as few as interest them, all for $20 total. In addition to the regular OLLI sessions, weekly bonus sections on subjects such as How to Buy a Lightbulb and The Human Body Through the Eyes of a Medical Illustrator are held on select Thursdays afternoons at the library. There is no fee for the bonus sessions. OLLI also offers field trips to places such as Columbiana and Oak Hill Cemetery and is offering a trip to Italy this year.
“It’s not about the meetings, it’s about the curriculum and discovering more about what you are interested in — history, nutrition, art, dance, etc.,” Wheeler said.
Each OLLI group is managed by its all-volunteer membership, who seeks out what others want to learn and create courses around that. Serving as co-chair of curriculum and recruitment committee for OLLI and attending classes on all sorts of subjects are just how Wheeler wants to be spending her new-found time.
“You don’t have to become an expert and take it up for life,” Wheeler said. “It’s just fun to know.”
Upcoming OLLI Courses
Alabama State and Local History
Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 18
10:30 a.m.-Noon
Sessions on Alabama history, the Jefferson County Dilemma, The Alabama Constitution, and Vestavia Hills History and Government
Your Money, Your Life
Oct. 7, 14, 21, 29
1:45-3 p.m.
Taught by private wealth advisor Lyle Aitken
Technology/Conservations: Solar Energy
Nov. 4
10:30 a.m.-noon
Taught by Robert Kloar
Armchair Travel
Nov. 4, 11, 18 and 25
1-2 p.m.
Sessions on Paris; India Memphis, Tenn.; and Spain
Under the Covers
Nov. 6, 11, 18 and 25
10:30 a.m.-Noon
Sessions by Alabama authors Bill Fitts, Delbert Reed and Donald Brown, as well as TV series producer and Paul W. Bryant Museum curator Taylor Watson
Weekly Bonus Sessions
Bicycling Across America
Oct. 2, 1:30-3 p.m.
Janet Halloway
My Lifetime Railroad Odyssey
Jack Norris
Oct. 16, 1:30-3 p.m.
Weekly Bonus Sessions are free, and admission for all other sessions is covered in a $20 per semester course fee. For more visit olli.ua.edu or ollivestavia.blogspot.com.