All Life is Learning - June 2024

We have some exciting courses lined up for our summer semester; many of which are scheduled to take place in the coming days! Don’t miss out—if you haven't already registered, make sure to do so now!

Free Tech Trends Online Bootcamp

OLLI at WMU and Osher Online are teaming up with the AARP’s Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) program to offer a free, one-week bootcamp on "Tech Trends." These five courses will be offered exclusively to select OLLI groups nationwide—including ours—from June 10 to 14. Each course will meet online over Zoom for one hour. The topics for the "Tech Trends" bootcamp series are below; click the links to learn more about each course.

6/10: Intro to Chatting with AI
6/11: Intro to Smartphone Photography
6/12: Intro to Photo Editing Tools
6/13: Wearable Technology
6/14: Smart Homes

Our OLLI at WMU staff will coordinate registration for these Zoom webinars similar to how we handle sign-ups for our free community events; please note that enrollments are first come, first serve, and space is limited.

Bring A Friend

If you plan to take a course this semester that isn’t full, consider participating in our Bring a Friend program, which allows you to invite those who are curious about OLLI to sit in on a course with you for free! This is a great way to introduce your friends and family to our lovely lifelong learning community and encourage them to join. Please don’t forget to contact the office beforehand to let us know that you will be bringing a friend so we can know who our guests are.

OLLI Members, Let’s Go to the Theater!

Have you seen the incredible lineup for the 2024-2025 season at WMU’s Miller Auditorium? Even better, would you like to go to the theater together as a group?

Our OLLI staff has been working closely with the sales folks at Miller to hold seats for our members so that we can attend as a group. There are two shows to choose from—or attend both! 

• The Lion King is Sunday, February 2, 2025, at 1 p.m.; tickets are $68.75.
  • Currently one of the longest-running shows on Broadway, Disney’s The Lion King is a beloved story—“the young lion cub Simba is destined to become King of the Pride Lands one day, but when his evil uncle Scar usurps the throne and Simba is left on his own, he has to find in himself the qualities of true royalty that will let him retake his rightful place” (New York Theatre Guide). Based on the 1994 film, you won’t want to miss this magical combination of entertainment and art!
• Two Trains Running is Friday, March 21, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $47.50.
  • Two Trains Running by August Wilson, dubbed the "theater's poet of Black America" by the New York Times, tells the story of restaurant owner Memphis Lee in 1969. “...Two Trains Running is about racial tensions in the Civil Rights era, as argued over by regulars at a soon-to-be-demolished diner, including a waitress, an ex-convict and a 322-year-old sage” (awaacc.org). Two Trains Running is the seventh of ten plays in Wilson’s series “The Pittsburgh Cycle.” It will only be in Kalamazoo one night, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity to see one of the greatest plays of 20th century American theater.

The deadline to purchase tickets is July 15, which is just one month away. This opportunity is a members-only benefit, so you must have a current OLLI membership at the time of purchase. Secure your seat today! Easily register by following the directions below:

1. Click here to go to the OLLI registration landing page
2. Sign into your OLLI account
3. Click the OLLI SIGs and Special Offerings tile on the far right
4. Select the show(s) you want to attend and add them to your cart
5. Proceed to check out as you normally would for other courses and events

There will be an accompanying OLLI course (with special guests) offered in the Winter/Spring 2025 semester to dive deeper into these beautiful productions. Details will be in the next course catalog, which will be available in late December/early January 2025.  

Please know that by reserving tickets, you are committing to attend. If circumstances change for you between July 15 and December 1 and you are unable to keep the commitment to attend, you must call the OLLI office for a refund, which is the ticket price minus the fees.

What Members Are Saying...

Ethical and Social Issues with AI with Dr. David Paul:
“I am so grateful to Professor Paul for opening up his undergrad classes to OLLI members. I really appreciated the opportunity to learn about AI in depth and discuss topics with students that are going out into the workforce where AI will have a significant impact. I also really appreciated how much time and effort Professor Paul put into finding current readings, videos, etc. as this field is developing rapidly. I hope OLLI continues to offer these blended classes—they are fantastic!
“I've taken three of Dr. Paul’s philosophy courses and a summer reading class. This man is a deep diver into the research on the subject. Delivers the information in a way that makes it comprehensible, exciting, and makes argumentative points that make you think. Each time I take a class I learn something new about him. He genuinely is interested in his students and goes the extra mile to help them. He is a jewel.”

Birding for Beginners with John Brenneman:
“What a fun outing! The instructor was interesting and knew SO MUCH about birds. It was impressive that he was able to identify so many birds by sound only. The Kleinstuck Preserve was a great place to observe the birds and to learn so many interesting facts about their habitats and migratory patterns.”

The Power of Plant-Based Nutrition for Health with Carol Wroblewski:
“The instructor was very knowledgeable and although she is passionate about plant-based nutrition, she recognized that not everyone is ready for that path. She gave lots of good hints about incorporating plant-based foods into the diet provided us with substitutions and good information about where to find ingredients.” 
“Recipes actually made during class...so got useful tips on ingredients and how to best prepare.”

The Making of Paper City with Tom Dietz:
“...excellent presentation of Tom Dietz, history expert of all things Kalamazoo!”

Prohibition: Its Rise and Fall with Randy Schau:
“Randy does a fantastic job of researching his talks.”
“Instructor is the best! And his slides, especially old photos and ads and newspaper clips, are great.”

Beginning Calligraphy with Dr. Robert Hosack:
“It provided a nice challenge. I liked being able to see how my Copperplate improved over the duration of the class.”

Confucianism Versus Taosim with Dr. Xiaojun Wang:
“Professor Wang was at his best sharing his own life experience and sharing ancient stories in his own words.”

Your Next Party Trick

Recently, I’ve been working with a client that has been having some issues with balance. If we live long enough, we will all likely have issues with balance at some point. With all of the spring activities like outdoor landscaping, pickle ball, and everything else we love to do outside, maintaining good balance will certainly prevent injuries. I am hopeful that as you start to notice balance issues, you will fight back! This should be an easy buy-in considering that one in five retiree-aged people will die within one year after experiencing a hip fracture. The best option is to minimize your likelihood of a fractured a hip is through exercise. 

There are a variety of ways to work on balance and proprioceptive awareness (knowing where your body is in relativity to its surroundings). Of course, strength training will go a long way in improving balance, because improving strength will improve muscular stability, making us more agile and able to recover if we start to lose our balance. Yoga and Pilates are also beneficial because they recruit many auxiliary muscles that we do not normally use, which improves overall balance and stability. 

Functional Training is another highly effective way to improve balance and stability. The principal goal of functional training is to incorporate day-to-day activities into forms of exercise, often by adding an element of instability, which will help improve balance and stability. 

Finally, here is a simple exercise that you can do at home, and once mastered, will be your next party trick. Dee Cole, a 75-year-old retired educator, demonstrates the move below:

Start next to a chair just in case. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, keeping good posture.

Slowly bend down and touch the floor, on one leg, with both hands, keeping a slight bend in the front knee, without touching the floor with your back foot. Slowly return to the starting point to finish. Work up to 10 on each leg.

Once you feel good about that move, add a knee raise at the end, without touching your back foot, kind of like Karate Kid. Then, show off to your friends with your impressive balance at your next party—such as Good Times with OLLI on June 20!