WORCESTER—It all started in 1993 when a small group of social workers from the Worcester area were retiring and started thinking about what they wanted to do in their free time.
From there, the Worcester Institute for Senior Education – or WISE – was born to create an organization offering adult education classes and opportunities for social events.
Thirty years later, the center is still a part of Assumption University, which has housed it from the beginning and has nearly 200 members.
A member-led organization, WISE had closer to 400 members before the pandemic, said Jim Keevan, the executive director. Members are entitled to unlimited classes throughout the year. Summer courses are separate and paid for individually. Dues are $340 for the year or $175 for a half year. Some classes meet on Zoom, but many are in person at Assumption. The winter classes are exclusively online, which means students don’t have to worry about the unpredictable New England weather, Keevan stressed. Courses include those on art, jazz, literature, music, and politics.
Keevan explained that WISE also sponsors special events, such as an annual luncheon for an additional cost. Book clubs, film clubs, and a brown bag speaker lunch are all part of the membership, though. There are special interest groups, as well, that meet periodically. Currently, there is a group that focuses on discussing the Supreme Court. He added that all WISE members are also welcome to attend college events and functions, such as concerts or lectures. Assumption, too, provides office space, classrooms and office support to WISE.
“I’m a life-long learner,” says Barbara Groves, who has been a member for 18 years, ever since she was recruited by a neighbor. “I think the courses have been wonderful. And I’ve met wonderful people there.”
Keevan points out that while most WISE members are retired there is no age requirement to join. Bringing courses back in person, post-pandemic has been a real priority for WISE, explains Keevan. “To provide a social environment for retired folks to make friends; this is why doing things in person is important.”
Groves, who is a Holden resident, has also served on the curriculum committee and the advisory council, along with being the president for three years. She said members come from all around Worcester and during the pandemic, some even joined via Zoom from many states away. “We’ve had very good instructors,” added Groves, who is 84. A retired educator herself, Groves says “WISE provides not just learning but the socialization which we read about as being so important as we age.”
“People are so eager to learn,” said Susan Perschbacher, a Worcester resident and retired Assumption professor who also taught WISE classes for years. As a member she now takes many of WISE’s courses. Among her favorites are the literature and poetry courses, something she didn’t have much time for while working as a sociology professor. “It’s a different group of learners,” said Perschbacher, 77, comparing WISE participants and traditional Assumption students. “They don’t have to be there.”
“Life-long learning is very important for aging brains and socialization,” added Perschbacher. “The pandemic was hard for aging people. Aging is an isolated state anyway.” But with WISE that isolation is eased. From the social events to the diverse course offerings, WISE is a community for many. “You get to be with other people,” said Perschbacher. “It’s an antidote to the isolation that aging can sometimes be.”
Bridget Samburg is a freelance editor, reporter and ghostwriter. She has written for Boston Magazine, The Boston Globe and Yankee Magazine, among other outlets. She can be reached at bsamburg@comcast.net
