Seminars Range from Fine Arts and Gardening to Religion, Music and History
Registration is underway for spring term courses in Wilmington College’s continuing education program designed for the 40-plus crowd known as the Wilmington Institute for Lifelong Learning.
WILL is in its sixth year of providing an “authentic educational opportunity” for older persons with a will to continue learning,” according to director Margaret Guentert, a retired faculty member at WC that founded and has coordinated the program since its inception.
“The Wilmington Institute for Lifelong Learning fulfills a need as an educational outlet for motivated persons wishing to learn and be challenged,” she said.
For the spring 2016 term, WILL’s catalog features 20 skill-learning and knowledge-expanding seminars designed to introduce students to new worlds. They vary in class frequency and duration but generally will meet weekly from March 14 to May 7.
The cost is $60 for the first seminar this term with the second one free of charge and $30 for each subsequent one. Some persons may qualify for financial aid. Seminars meet on campus and at other various locations.
The slate of courses for the spring term encompasses a number of topics, including fine arts, gardening, religion, history, literature, medicine and travel.
Seminars include: Keeping Score: Music and the Movies, Lost Texts of Christianity, The English Reformation, Nutrition for Healthy Aging, The Role of Gender and Sexuality in the Bible, A Study of Lincoln Artifacts, Introduction to Woodcarving, Reading and Writing Memoirs, Thirteen to One: The Creation of a Constitution, English Gardens I, Cincinnati Springtime Art.
Also, Alternations to Earth’s Environment, Baseball, Philosophy and the Twilight Zone, Quakerism: Then and Now, English Gardens II, Stained Glass Possibilities, Bird Watching, Dollar Coins Around the World and How to Make Better Photos.
In addition, a free-of-charge seminar, Medicare 101, will be held April 1.
Guentert retired from Wilmington College’s English faculty in 2009. She established the WILL program based upon successful models in other communities that shared a desire to provide an educational outlet for motivated persons wishing to learn and be challenged.
“These seminars are designed for those with a passion to know, those eager to share ideas and learn new things,” she said. “Those that enroll in the program are persons that want to build upon their lives and stay engaged.”
In addition to course descriptions and class schedules on WC’s Website, WILL booklets are available in Wilmington at the public library, the General Denver, For a Song & a Story and Kava Coffee House, and in Blanchester at the Senior Center and Chevrolet dealership. They can also be obtained by calling Guentert at WC and leaving a message, including name and mailing address, at (937) 481-2226.
View the WILL brochure
Visit the WILL webpage
