Sedona AZ – Yavapai College’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) of Sedona and the Verde Valley is pleased to announce the start of the fall semester.  OLLI is a dynamic organization within Yavapai College created to meet the needs of intellectually active mature adults. What makes OLLI a unique learning experience is that there is no pressure of tests, grades, or papers.  It is a warm gathering of people who are endlessly curious and love to learn. 

A team of OLLI members will be available for a meet and greet at the Sedona and Cottonwood libraries, September 7 and 8 2011, and the Beaver Creek Adult Center in Lake Montezuma on September 9 and 10, 2011. 

This year, OLLI will be premiering OLLI Fest: A Festival of Learning.  OLLI Fest is OLLI’s fall open house. The fall term begins on Monday, September 26, 2011.  Ninety offerings in both learning group and workshop style have been generously crafted by volunteers in the Verde Valley who give of their time because of their affinity to lifelong learning as well as their dedication to the community. 

OLLI offers learning groups and workshops at the Yavapai College campuses in Sedona and Clarkdale. Learning groups meet weekly for six to eight weeks in length. Traditional learning group favorites Elders Wisdom Circle, Out to Lunch Book Club, Exploring the Verde Valley, WWII Stories,  News & Views, Meditative Hikes, Facebook, and Creating Your Personal Legacy will return. 

The fall session will also be premiering new learning group offerings, including but not limited to Ancient Alien Beings, Slavery and the Civil War, An Argentina Experience, Sedona Time Bank, Golf Seminar, Horses Helping Humans, American & British Political Systems, Visiting Papua New Guinea, Needle Arts. 

For those that cannot commit to a learning group, fascinating and engaging workshops and presentations are offered. Themes of the workshops and presentations cover history, politics, health and wellness, self-help, volunteerism, International Relations, music appreciation, literature, metaphics, personal finance, gardening, and theexistence of extraterrestrial life.  

The learning groups, presentations, or workshops are made possible by the heart, passion, and steadfast dedication of the team of OLLI facilitators who volunteer to lead members in lively discussion and interaction. OLLI is always in search of individuals or groups that might be interested in sharing their knowledge, expertise, passion, craft, or hobby with others. 

Is there a particular topic or craft that you enjoy sharing with mature, inquisitive, and dynamic adults?  If this question piques your interest, OLLI invites you to be a facilitator for its Winter Session.

You do not have to be a retired professor from a university to facilitate a class. If you feel that you have valuable life experience, have researched a topic well in your life, are a professional that might have valuable information for mature adults, or have a passion for a craft or hobby, you can be an OLLI facilitator!  There is no greater reward than to share what you love with others.  OLLI students come to class because they genuinely want to learn and meet new people. 

OLLI is accepting facilitator proposals until October 7, 2011  for the winter semester which begins January 17, 2012. For more information, to request a catalog or request a facilitator proposal form, call 928-649-4275.

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