The News

Bringing OLLI Home to You
Season 2, #1 – July 27, 2021

Looking BACK … and AHEAD!

Hello Friend,
Our just-finished summer session was a success! Some classes were held in-person on our beautiful Ringling College Museum Campus, following CDC guidelines. Quite honestly, it felt wonderful to see familiar faces, engage in conversation, and adjourn to the Bistro for coffee and some nourishment. Most summer classes, however, met on Zoom as they had throughout the year.
Your recent summer course evaluations continue to praise the quality and dedication of our instructors. They also speak to the high level of engagement by our students, many of whom told of challenging themselves with topics foreign to what had been their lives’ work. OLLI continues to provide a place to experiment and dip your toes into something new. Our motto: No grades, no tests; just the pure joy of learning.
A news commentator recently referred to the summer of 2021 as the "summer of reset." Flexibility and resilience seem to be the keys to the future. According to a recent study, working from home made people 13.5 percent more productive! Amazon tried to make its workforce return to the office, and a revolt ensued. Google encouraged flexibility and was met with praise. What will the future look like?
An interesting article in The Atlantic discussed how our mental health ebbed and flowed during the pandemic, but researchers were surprised at what they found. Read the article here.
OLLI staff and volunteers are busy planning a robust fall calendar, much of which will be in-person on campus! Soon you will see new courses and old favorites, great lectures, and a new lineup of events designed to build community. Stay tuned! We know some of you have been on a hiatus, or missed participating in our in-person classes, and we are excited to welcome you back. We have much to offer, and so do you!
You will begin receiving a series of Thursday emails leading up to the fall semester, highlighting what you can expect as we transition back to on-campus (and online) programming.

Studio + Digital Arts

Summer Term Continues Through September 8

You can still catch a few late-starting Studio + Digital Arts classes such as ceramics, photography, and a mural project. S+DA classes are offered in-person and/or online. OLLI Gold Members save 10% on tuition. Click the catalog image below to view and register for classes.

Homage to Bill Andrews

As you may know, we’ve said goodbye to another OLLI legend. Bill came to OLLI 20 years ago, long before we were OLLI. He taught the Writers’ Workshop with Helga Harris and more recently with Ellen Brosnahan. Bill also started the very first newsletter when OLLI was the Seniors Academy.
As this newsletter team wraps up our first year of keeping you connected, we hope our publication will continue to evolve in a way that will make Bill proud. We walk humbly in his footsteps.

Campus Connections

Sarasota Art Museum

• Museum Free Day, the last Sunday of each month. This is a generous opportunity supported by the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation. Bring your friends and family, and explore new art. Make time for lunch in the Bistro and take a bit of the Museum home with you from the Shop.
• Find new and upcoming exhibitions and events at https://www.sarasotaartmuseum.org.

Ringling College Galleries

• Curtis Anderson: The Story I’ll Tell – The Mixtape, through July 31, Patricia Thompson Gallery and online. Photographer Curtis Anderson examines the intersection of race and religion and the blurred line between in an attempt to find rest.
• Find more information about exhibitions here: https://www.ringlingcollege.gallery/visit. Galleries are free and open to the public.

Membership

We are eager to welcome you back to campus in the fall! Take a moment to go online and renew your membership by logging into your account.
Not yet an OLLI member? Call 941-309-5111 for more information and to join.

So, where are you? Sarasota or Beyond?

We wonder whether you have taken the plunge yet and left your pandemic habitat. The travel industry says people are once again on the move. As the world begins to reopen, a couple of our OLLI members share their adventures. You can follow along with them below.

That comes with a Black Death chaser.
Essayist Dave Landsperger waxes poetic about some unexpected visual and culinary discoveries during a stopover in Iceland. Read more here.

What goes down must hike back up!
Janet Schmidt adventured westward to reconnect with her love of nature. For more, click here.

Travel Photos

Whether you go around Sarasota or elsewhere this summer, send your travel photo(s) to rstaplet so we can share your adventures in our newsletter. Include a note about your location and the name(s) you want to include. Enjoy installment #2 from fellow OLLI community members.

The OLLI Diaries:

A Place for You

Read At Last – a Reunion! by Martha Hill.
Share your stories, anecdotes, memories, or observations to inspire or entertain other readers.
Start your entry with "Dear Diary" and keep it under 200 words. Submit entries by email to theollidiaries. Include your name, phone number, and email address. Only your name will appear if your entry is published.