On Monday, April 3, around 1,000 seniors in Long Beach woke up bright and early to get ready for their first day of school. For the next seven weeks, these seniors will attend classes either online or in-person and learn about art, history, technology, fitness, science, politics and more.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), formerly known as Senior University, has been providing seniors in the greater Long Beach area with two semesters of classes for the past 26 years. Subjects include Ethics in America, Foundations of Investing, Introduction to iPad, Evolution of our Solar System, Yoga, Acoustic Guitar and over 70 other classes.
“You get up in the morning, and you say, ‘Oh, I have to go to school today’ and you feel good about that,” said Sylvia Manheim, the founder of OLLI. “And you meet people, you get to know them … You just feel younger. You feel that there is a meaning to your existence. Even though I’m going to be 97 years old, I feel like a young person.”
After retiring as a health educator at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Manheim was sitting in her backyard with her other retired friends, not knowing how she was going to fill her days going forward. She had heard of other cities having a senior university, and took the idea to then-CSULB president at the time, Steve Horn who told her to write a grant proposal.
“That’s how it all started,” Manheim said. Classes began in 1996 with 80 seniors signed up for nine different subjects, including Current Events and Memoir Writing. Manheim and her friends recruited other seniors at their temples, churches, gardening clubs and other social events.
OLLI enrollment has grown steadily over the years thanks to endowments from the Bernard Osher Foundation, which funds 33% of the program. The rest of the funding comes from tuition fees, which is $15 per class along with a $40 annual membership fee.
All of the instructors who teach classes through OLLI are volunteers. Many of them are retired professionals within their subject such as retired lawyers, doctors and judges. Although the classes are fun and informative, Manheim said that one of her favorite things about OLLI is getting to meet people who have different views and experiences.
Manheim considers herself a “true liberal progressive.” She’s marched for equality, involved herself in political affairs and has been thrown in jail because of her beliefs. She understands, and even welcomes differing points of view.
“Instead of speaking to people that you agree with all the time, I think it makes you think about other ideas,” Manheim said. “You try to convince the person [that] what you’re thinking is the correct way, and then ask them questions as to why they think the way they do.”
She’s referring to people like her good friend John Halligan, who says he’s “not a conservative, but I’m not a liberal either.”
Halligan also enjoys learning from people different from him, and believes there’s a lot to learn by arguing with people smarter than you. He started taking classes at OLLI about 10 years ago after his wife passed away as a “reason to get up in the morning.”
“I’ve always read if you want to get smarter, mingle with people that are smarter than you,” Halligan said. “Remember [the students] are very smart, most of them. Not all of them … probably more than half. So I appreciate that, I learn something from that.”
Halligan is one of the longest-attending students at OLLI, and has earned himself a reputation of a sort of class clown among his teachers and peers. His first class was a Shakespeare course that he said helped him understand the classic tales more than ever before.
His favorite classes are Current Events and Film, where students get to discuss movies and things going on in the world. “I think they know me from my humorous remarks,” Halligan said with a small smile.
Manheim and Halligan take playful jabs at each other and catch up about their families. They talk about what classes they’re excited to take this spring session and reminisce about their favorite professors.
Hearing the two chat, one would easily think they’re 20-somethings about to start another semester of college. They have young spirits and an eagerness to learn, fueled by the community at OLLI. Many students find time to see each other outside of class, and Manheim said that two of their friends met at OLLI and later got married.
“I think the most important thing about our classes is that it gives people a structure … And that’s important when you get older because before then, you had a tremendous amount of structure,” Manheim said. “You went to work, you have children and make a living, and now that structure is gone. So this is a new structure in one’s life. And it’s productive and positive and meaningful and educational.”
OLLI members are also invited to take educational field trips and classes throughout the city. A monthly newsletter is sent out inviting seniors to community events and field trips. In December 2022, 28 students and their friends boarded a bus to go visit NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena.
Residents 50 years old and older can become members of OLLI by registering online. Classes at OLLI are not graded and students are not tested, they are purely intended for the joy of learning. Spring session will run from April 3 to May 26.
This is a wonder article about a fantastic program (I’m counting down the two years until I am eligible to join!). Just a note: the preferred term for this age group is “older adults” rather than “seniors.” The CSULB Gerontology Program is proud to partner with OLLI on a variety of projects and encourage intergenerational connections.
This is a wonderful article about a fantastic program (I’m counting down the two years until I am eligible to join!). Just a note: the preferred term for this age group is “older adults” rather than “seniors.” The CSULB Gerontology Program is proud to partner with OLLI on a variety of projects and encourage intergenerational connections.