Learning in Retirement recently kicked off another action-packed season of meeting the educational, physical, intellectual, and social needs of Valdosta State University’s friends and neighbors.
 
Community members 50 years of age and older have 110 opportunities to learn something new during the Learning in Retirement Spring 2017 semester, which features a course lineup full of trips and tours, books and book reviews, topics that are simply “good to know,” special events, and classes in the areas of health and fitness, computers and technology, fine arts, leisure, history, social studies, and science.
 
Founded in January 1996, Learning in Retirement “provides a unique opportunity for cultural growth, lifelong learning, and recreation,” according to information provided by the organization. The course offerings and curriculum are “chosen, designed, and often led by the members, encouraging peer learning and active member participation.”
 
Learning in Retirement capitalizes “on the strengths and experiences of older adults, empowering them to continue learning, expand their horizons, and enhance their personal development.”
   
Membership costs $75 per person per semester — fall and spring —and allows members to participate in as many Learning in Retirement courses as they desire. Yearly memberships are available at a reduced cost of $135. A few courses and special activities require an additional fee, which is always noted in advance in the course catalog.
 
New members are always welcome.  
 
A member-led and VSU-sponsored organization, Learning in Retirement will close out its Spring 2017 semester with a Beach Party Potluck from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, May 12, in the University Center Cypress Room. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the occasion — think flowered shirts and flip flops — and to bring a dish to share. The brief business meeting, including the installation of officers, will take place before the meal.  
   
VSU’s Regional Center for Continuing Education is located at 903 N. Patterson St. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life in the region by providing educational, artistic, cultural, technological, and economic development activities and programs. It works to develop and present programs and activities for professional and personal enrichment of community persons.
 
Contact Suzanne Ewing, Learning in Retirement program coordinator, at (229) 245-6484 or [email protected] to learn more.