Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
March 28, 2017 10:30 a.m.
After being affiliated with FSCJ for over 10 years, the Center for Lifelong Learning decided to go out on its own. Rebranded as Amelia Lifelong Learning (ALL), the group organized 8 courses for the spring semester. These courses included literature, language, history, geomorphology, photography and current events. (In the interests of full disclosure, I am on the board of ALL.)
There was a lot to accomplish and a short time to accomplish it. We had invaluable assistance in getting this semester together. First we thank the instructors, without whom we would not have had a semester. All of the instructors who had taught with us previously agreed to continue teaching. Judging from course evaluations, they did a great job.
We needed venues for the classes. St. Peter’s once again agreed to host several classes. The Plantation provided space for two classes and promoted the classes to residents. The Fernandina Beach library let us use their new technology room for a class in Lightroom. They also agreed that we could hold board meetings in their community room.
Organizations need bank accounts. CBC Bank not only helped us set up an account but provided suggestions and advice. Two donors who prefer to remain anonymous provide us with seed money for the one-time costs in getting started. Megabite worked with us to design our logo, put up our website, and showed us how to use Paypal so students could register on-line.
And last but certainly not least, two other groups. Our loyal students stuck with us through the transition and showed their willingness to sign up for our new offerings. The other 11 members of the ALL board gave freely of their time and talents to make the semester a reality. It is gratifying to know that all of the assistance and work has been worth it.
Over the past two months, we have had 8 courses where 108 people have discussed our island’s geomorphology, current events, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Roman history, Spanish, and digital image processing. Students have expressed their pleasure that we’re still here and still offering interesting courses.
And now onto the future. We are planning the fall schedule now. There will be courses similar to the ones offered this spring and in addition, we hope to offer new topics. Previously we offered courses ending in April and not starting up again until the fall. We plan to change that this year by offering one day or half day events with speakers of interest to the community. Check with our website – www.amelialearning.com to follow the development of our plans.
Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.
Just finished Marilyn Wesley’s six-session course on Hemingway’s Nick Adams stories. Great group of people in attendance and contributing to the discussion, but, as always, it was Marilyn who knew just what tone to set, and what questions to ask, to get everyone engaged. I enjoyed every minute of the course, and look forward to future courses taught by Marilyn and others. Congratulations to ALL on its first “semester”.