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Retirement is supposed to be a time of freedom and relaxation. Yet it tends to lead to isolation.
Melissa Hayes-Connolly, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), recalled a moving moment after sitting in on a class.
“There was a woman who came up to me and said, ‘Hey, are you the new director?’” Hayes-Connolly recalled. “And she said, ‘I want you to know that this program saved my life because I was so alone.’”
For Hayes-Connolly, this moment underscored the importance of OLLI and the work that her team does daily.
While the institute is known for offering educational opportunities, its influence extends far beyond the classroom.
“Our tagline is ‘Curiosity never retires,’ so our mission is to provide learning opportunities, cultural and social events, and travel experiences for adults 50 and over,” Hayes-Connolly said.
OLLI creates opportunities for connection and impactful experiences for all of its members, from special interest groups to excursions and social gatherings. There is bound to be something for anyone with a little curiosity.
Hayes-Connolly mentioned that loneliness has become an increasingly prominent issue among people age 50 and above. Building new connections is more important than ever.
"We know that there is an epidemic of loneliness in this country and across the world,” Hayes-Connolly said. “A lot of folks need a program like OLLI because it stimulates the mind, it develops friendships, it creates social connections.”
That mission is made possible in large part through crucial donor support through the N Fund – Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Development Fund.
“We can’t sustain our day-to-day operations without the foundation,” Hayes-Connolly said. “Our ability to deliver programming is because we have these endowments that sit in the foundation.”
As OLLI continues to grow, Hayes-Connolly hopes to introduce more adults to the benefits of the institute, especially those who may not know the full scope of the work they do.
“A lot of folks will say OLLI is like the best-kept secret at the University of Nebraska, and so that’s certainly part of my job as director to grow our name and our reputation in the work we do,” Hayes-Connolly said.
Hayes-Connolly is enthusiastic about the future of OLLI. The program has already come a long way, and she believes further growth is inevitable.
“We’re all really excited to see where this program can go, and you know the beauty is we’re already really great,” Hayes-Connolly said. “We know that there are opportunities to be better, and so we’re pretty excited about that.”
