I first learned about OLLI from a friend in an organization that I volunteered with who is also from Hawaii like me, and I joined OLLI five years ago. Then two years later, we faced the pandemic, but we didn’t really miss a beat because we have the Zoom virtual learning.
My favorite class—the one that's really changed my life—was the Hubble telescope class that was one of the first classes that I took. I didn't realize at this time in my life, that I would develop such an interest in outer space and research and universes and galaxies. Now I'm a fan of the James Webb telescope, and I have NASA on my phone. I never ever anticipated becoming so curious about outer space, and about other studies, and all kinds of great classes, but that one really changed my life.
Another class that really impacted me was a happiness class. This was a couple years ago. I’m basically happy, I just wanted to see how I could be happier at another level, if that's possible. So, I learned some really good pointers and one of them, from that class, was the teacher was talking about, if you're down and depressed, and you are looking for something to do, go volunteer. That changes, not only your thinking in your mind, but it's good for your body because you get these good endorphins going when you're focused on something important.
I volunteer quite a bit with OLLI and I love it. This last year I've been invited to the community outreach committee which has given me so many opportunities for going out to the community to get the word out about OLLI. I emphasize how important it is to keep learning and the community that you can create just by coming to the classes and finding people that have similar interests. I've talked to so many people that have retired and now they are just having fun going to these classes and building long lasting relationships. Recently, I have been able to promote OLLI on KUNV 91.5, the Jazz station. We record a conversation, and then they play it intermittently throughout the week. This has been a great way to help get the word out about OLLI and share what it has meant to me with a wider audience. OLLI has meant so much to me, I am just passionate about spreading the word, and hope it comes to mean just as much to you.