I am what they used to call a member of the “sandwich” generation. I still have a teen at home, preparing for college. I have a very independent parent in her 80s. And, I’m facing the prospect of retirement – or a reduced schedule/career change – in the next decade.
Do I have questions about the future? You bet. Do I know how best to find the answers? Not always. Are there things I don’t want to think about right now? Absolutely.
Am I alone in confronting this angst? I don’t think so.
Neither did some enterprising people at Holyoke Community College (HCC). In fact, I found the meeting with Ken White, dean of Community Services, and Martha Johnson, author of “Why Not Do What You Love?” about the college’s two-year-old series of seminars entitled “Living Fully at 55+” both refreshing and enlightening. Sure, there are plenty of one-day talks on how to approach the post-career-and-family years; you’ll find financial planning seminars, estate planning seminars, Social Security seminars, even the occasional rethinking-your-career seminars. But there are few courses – or places – where those of us facing that time of life (or already immersed in it) can dip a toe into some of the more existential topics from exploring your legacy to advanced directives.
With this new slate of seminars, HCC is trying to remedy this, while at the same time providing a space for multi-generational mixing and idea sharing. The goal: getting people in their 50s, 60s and even 70s back on campus. White said what started from Johnson’s pitch to teach a class based on her book grew, and from student feedback he and Johnson “sat down and talked about what people need” at this stage of life. The result: a new slate of “Living Fully” seminars in each of the four semesters, based on “the needs of the students.”
It’s a bold idea. To get a glimpse of what White and Johnson have cooked up for this spring’s semester, check out this month’s feature.
