The University of Delaware’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) is based on the idea that we can expand our horizons at any age by sharing the experiences and expertise of others. That’s why Rebecca Worley, a retired UD professor and longtime OLLI instructor, and her co-instructor, Pam Meitner, brought together students and faculty from some of UD’s more than 100 study abroad programmes with OLLI members to talk about the insights and enjoyment they gained from embracing international adventure as students.
“I wanted to connect OLLI with the study abroad program and the opportunities it provides for UD students,” Worley said of her class, “Study Abroad Stories: 100 Years.” “I wanted OLLI members to see the profound, life-changing growth that comes from study abroad at UD.”
Both programmes have a long and treasured history at UD. Founded in 1980 as the Academy of Lifelong Learning, it became the University of Delaware Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in 2010. Today, more than 2,100 OLLI members from Delaware and neighbouring states participate in courses and programmes in Dover, Lewes, Ocean View, Wilmington and online.
At 100 years old, UD’s study abroad programme was the first in the nation to embrace overseas learning opportunities, and in recent years has included themed trips such as “Victors and Spoils: Competition in Ancient Greece,” a three-week micro-study abroad programme led by Tyson Sukava, assistant professor of classics.
Sukava and his students told OLLI students how they travelled to Athens over winter break and explored how the ancient Greeks turned many social activities into contests, giving them a deeper understanding of both ancient and modern Greek culture.
“One of the joys I get from the programme is watching the students become more and more comfortable in this room,” he told the OLLI class. “We start in Pangrati, a small neighbourhood near the centre of Athens. The students arrive very late in the day – they end up in a completely new place; they take a bus and they’re dropped off at their apartments in an unfamiliar area. Naturally, it’s disorientating.
“So for the first few days they need me to go with them when they want to do something like find a shop or a restaurant. But in a very short time they’re like, ‘No, no, no, Tyson, we’ve got this. We know exactly where to go. It fills me with joy to see their confidence and trust in each other grow. They build relationships that last well beyond the end of the programme.
Kelsey McNamara, a recent UD graduate and biochemist who works in cancer research, was one of Sukava’s students on the Greece programme. She agreed that the relationships she made on the trip were meaningful and lasting. She told the OLLI class, “Not only did I find a new close friend and a new boyfriend among my classmates, but I also made friends with the Greeks.”
“We often found ourselves in this little bar around the corner from our flats after a long day and we became good friends with one of the bartenders who was also an actor,” she continued. “He would tell us stories about what it was like to grow up in Greece, things you wouldn’t hear in a lecture or a museum. I actually went back to Greece six months later and reconnected with him. Now we follow each other on Instagram.
For Dan Leininger, who told the OLLI class about the year he spent studying in Hamburg, Germany in 1967-68, the friendships he made while studying abroad have lasted a lifetime.
“I was in a class called ‘German for Foreigners’ with 30 students from 18 different countries,” he said. “The University of Hamburg did so much to encourage students to travel. Trips were available to all students, especially foreign students, at incredibly low prices, so I visited 13 countries in my year in Germany.”
His presentation to the class was a mix of photos of his study abroad in Germany, taken from old slides from the 1960s, and recent photos of the people he met on that trip, whom he still visits regularly and who come to the US to visit him. After graduating from UD in 1969, he took a job as a high school teacher and spent the next 33 years sharing his love of the German language and culture with his students: He organised 17 trips to Germany for them over the course of his career.
Reflecting on his study abroad experience, Leininger said, “My international friendships really changed my perception of the world.
The study abroad stories clearly inspired OLLI’s teaching, where adults over 50 take and teach classes together. Course offerings are typically driven by member interest, as well as the passions and expertise of the dedicated volunteer member instructors.
“I love to travel, so hearing about these experiences is naturally interesting to me,” said course participant Gerri Sanchez. “But I think this course fits in so well with OLLI because our community is all about broadening horizons and understanding other people’s perspectives. It’s just amazing how many people who have studied abroad have maintained relationships, sometimes for decades, or found service opportunities – or even gotten married – because of their travels. People are truly changed by their study abroad experience.
