A New Job…
Early in 1999 I took yet another, seemingly small step, but one that would lead to even bigger changes. I put an ad in my local neighborhood paper looking for women to form a walking group. Struggling with my own weight, I needed walking support and what better way than by gathering a group of women together? That ad drew a nice response and we were off!
Over the next few months we bonded and learned more about each other as tends to happen whenever a group of like-minded women get together. By then I had left my old job, (yet another giant and very scary step) and refinanced my house to give me money to live on. I needed to sort out exactly what I wanted to do with my life now that I had my degree. All I knew was that I wanted to work in some way in the field of adult education.
In talking with the group as we walked, I found out that one of the women worked for an organization called Elderhostel, Inc. I knew very little about the company, only that they developed educational travel programs for older adults, just like the ones offered by Interhostel, the company with whom I had traveled to Austria and Italy. The only difference was that at Elderhostel you had to be 55 to participate, while at Interhostel you only had to be 50, which is why I was able to travel with them back in 1996.
She told me about the company and then about an opening that was coming up. One thing led to another and at the end of August, 1999, I went to work for Elderhostel and found my perfect job. For the next five years, from their headquarters in Boston, I directed the Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN), North America’s largest educational network for older adults.
Although different from Elderhostel’s regular type of educational travel programming, but still supported by them as a kind of community-based division, EIN performs a valuable service for older adults. This network helps start new lifelong learning institutes or learning in retirement programs as they are sometimes called, for older learners at local colleges, universities, retirement communities and other venues.
We also provide resources to all these programs, help organize regional conferences, and promote communication between all the programs. Today we have 367 programs affiliated with EIN. It is a stimulating and enriching job that feeds my soul and helps me feel as if I have fulfilled my educational goals.
Next – New Hampshire
Early in 1999 I took yet another, seemingly small step, but one that would lead to even bigger changes. I put an ad in my local neighborhood paper looking for women to form a walking group. Struggling with my own weight, I needed walking support and what better way than by gathering a group of women together? That ad drew a nice response and we were off!
Over the next few months we bonded and learned more about each other as tends to happen whenever a group of like-minded women get together. By then I had left my old job, (yet another giant and very scary step) and refinanced my house to give me money to live on. I needed to sort out exactly what I wanted to do with my life now that I had my degree. All I knew was that I wanted to work in some way in the field of adult education.
In talking with the group as we walked, I found out that one of the women worked for an organization called Elderhostel, Inc. I knew very little about the company, only that they developed educational travel programs for older adults, just like the ones offered by Interhostel, the company with whom I had traveled to Austria and Italy. The only difference was that at Elderhostel you had to be 55 to participate, while at Interhostel you only had to be 50, which is why I was able to travel with them back in 1996.
She told me about the company and then about an opening that was coming up. One thing led to another and at the end of August, 1999, I went to work for Elderhostel and found my perfect job. For the next five years, from their headquarters in Boston, I directed the Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN), North America’s largest educational network for older adults.
Although different from Elderhostel’s regular type of educational travel programming, but still supported by them as a kind of community-based division, EIN performs a valuable service for older adults. This network helps start new lifelong learning institutes or learning in retirement programs as they are sometimes called, for older learners at local colleges, universities, retirement communities and other venues.
We also provide resources to all these programs, help organize regional conferences, and promote communication between all the programs. Today we have 367 programs affiliated with EIN. It is a stimulating and enriching job that feeds my soul and helps me feel as if I have fulfilled my educational goals.
Next – New Hampshire
posted by Nancy Merz Nordstrom at 4:21 PM
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