"Everybody's got a story." Kari Fagin on lifelong, meaningful learning

Kari Fagin was having lunch with one of her mentors when he pushed a piece of paper across the table in her direction. She read 10 names she didn't know. Her mentor's explanation: those people attended programs at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (or OLLI), the same programs they had helped run during the previous years and that served seasoned learners over 50 through intellectually challenging study groups. At the time, Kari didn't know what to do with that information, but she soon realized her mentor was trying to say something she "already knew and loved."

"Everybody's got a story," she recalled during an interview with host Amy Boyle for the latest episode of the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast. "Everybody contributed in meaningful ways, even if they're not doing it the same way now."

As someone who left the corporate world searching for meaning and a former director of engagement at her synagogue specializing in empty nesters, Kari became the director of OLLI at Northwestern University. Now, as a Director at Osher National Resource Center, she promotes curiosity and community-building while helping support 124 OLLIs nationwide.

Curious minds

OLLIs' curriculum includes (but is not limited to) arts, current affairs, health and wellness, travel, crafts, hobbies, foreign language and the favorite topic among members: history. But not world history. Instead, "history of rock and roll, the history of shipwrecks, the history of the 1960s, because that's history now too, as are the 80s and the 90s. The history of the post office..."

As Kari told Amy, one grows by becoming curious about other people and subjects. "You're not just growing in the topic that you are addressing, that's outside your comfort zone," she said. "You're growing in the people you meet in that new lane that you wouldn't have met otherwise." That's an idea pretty much aligned with OLLI's motto: curiosity never retires.

But if growing as a person sounds like a good enough reason to start learning something new after 50, Kari also highlighted that people who join groups similar to OLLI tend to live about seven years longer than others. I wonder what would happen if this message reached the 1,200 people turning age 65 every day.

"For the sheer joy of it"

One of the things that make OLLI so special is the fact that members are there because they want to. "It's learning for the sheer joy of it.”

Once they join, intellectual pursuits give way to social gatherings, permanent friendships and new challenges. Some become teachers themselves in their area of expertise.

Kari recalled one 65-year-old lady, a widow, who joined OLLI to figure out what the next phase in her life would look like after a successful career, years of caregiving and a few losses. "No one gives you a map," Kari told Amy.

When to start?

Kari has straightforward advice for those who qualify for OLLI's programs: "Don't wait. If you have an opportunity, you're 50 years old and you're not retiring for another 10 years, but you can get away for a couple of hours every week to learn something new, to put yourself outside your normal comfort zone, to meet other people, to start creating this community, Do it now. Take time for yourself."

You can learn more about OLLI here: https://sps.northwestern.edu/oshernrc/ 

Carolina Baldin is a freelance journalist from Brazil. Having worked in law, policy and regulation, she is passionate about everyday stories that illustrate larger issues. She graduated from a master's program at Northwestern University in 2023 and became a guest blogger on the "Speaking of Phenomenal" podcast blog in March 2024.