Instructor Profile - Paul Rohde
Paul Rohde
Meet Paul Rohde. - by Barbara McLean. November 2017.
Mix together enthusiasm, energy, curiosity, intelligence, education, preparation, interest and dedication and you have a hint of the teaching prowess of Paul Rohde, an OLLI instructor for the past ten years.” I ask myself”, says Paul, “could students benefit from a particular class” “I get interested in a topic, try to understand how it might enhance the lives of OLLI students as I do my preparation research, rehearse and organize each class, and we are off.”
Paul describes taking an OLLI class ten years ago, sitting next to Mickey Henriquez who himself had taught some sixty classes, becoming friends and lunch buddies with Mickey who then said to Paul, “you are going to teach at OLLI” – and that was his entry into OLLI teaching. Mickey taught him that the most important consideration in teaching at OLLI is the need to relate the teaching and learning to the lives of the students. He mentored Paul through his first year teaching FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM and remained a wonderful friend. “Students at OLLI are educated, interested, and have a lifetime of experience” Paul says.
”My job is to figure out how to teach each class so it continues to be meaningful to the students.” He enjoys seeing students not only learn, but develop friendships in class, often continuing their exploration through groups they form themselves after the class is over. Investing For Income, Humor, Common Sense Economics, The Healthy Aging Brain, and Positive Psychology are among the classes Paul has taught. “There is nothing like OLLI. It is unique”. Paul takes classes himself, searching especially for those outside his knowledge base.
A graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with several degrees in Mathematical Physics followed by a MBA at Northwestern, Paul soon found himself knee deep into computers. He developed accounting systems for securities on computers, primarily for banks. Paul’s expertise is broadly inclusive of information technology especially as it relates to the Banking/Brokerage business. This was his career for many years even at one point becoming a technology director for McDonald Corporation (yes, the hamburger store). “I am a problem solver,” Paul smilingly reports. “Give me a problem and I’m happy! And I learned that looking for the perfect solution to a problem should not always be the goal. Instead, the question must be: with the time we have and the money we have, what is our best solution?” He continues, “the perfect is the enemy of the good. We sometimes ignore a sustainable solution in our search of an unobtainable perfection”.
After working in this industry over thirty years, Paul started his own consulting business, working with banks and brokerage firms designing computer systems to fit their needs.
A friendly, easily approachable person, Paul and his wife Nora, whose background is also information technology, have two, grown, married sons and grandchildren-- some in Texas and some in Minnesota. They have cruised and toured quite extensively, but recently find themselves doing less of this in favor of family gatherings and volunteer activities at home. “I have volunteered at the Southern Seasons Cooking School for years and my wife is a volunteer Medicare counselor for Orange County.” Paul does a lot of the daily cooking at home and the couple exercise all they can. “Nora is a wonderful photographer, she quilts, knits, and reads a lot” Paul proudly reports. They are active, involved, and I suspect, never at a loss for an activity that makes them happy.
“I love my teaching and try to make class fun and organized and interesting. If my classes help somebody along the way, I am excited and gratified”.
This gifted, giving, gracious teacher is one of our OLLI gifts to you, the student. Run, don’t walk to any of his classes. You will be challenged to extraordinary learning.
Mix together enthusiasm, energy, curiosity, intelligence, education, preparation, interest and dedication and you have a hint of the teaching prowess of Paul Rohde, an OLLI instructor for the past ten years.” I ask myself”, says Paul, “could students benefit from a particular class” “I get interested in a topic, try to understand how it might enhance the lives of OLLI students as I do my preparation research, rehearse and organize each class, and we are off.”
Paul describes taking an OLLI class ten years ago, sitting next to Mickey Henriquez who himself had taught some sixty classes, becoming friends and lunch buddies with Mickey who then said to Paul, “you are going to teach at OLLI” – and that was his entry into OLLI teaching. Mickey taught him that the most important consideration in teaching at OLLI is the need to relate the teaching and learning to the lives of the students. He mentored Paul through his first year teaching FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM and remained a wonderful friend. “Students at OLLI are educated, interested, and have a lifetime of experience” Paul says.
”My job is to figure out how to teach each class so it continues to be meaningful to the students.” He enjoys seeing students not only learn, but develop friendships in class, often continuing their exploration through groups they form themselves after the class is over. Investing For Income, Humor, Common Sense Economics, The Healthy Aging Brain, and Positive Psychology are among the classes Paul has taught. “There is nothing like OLLI. It is unique”. Paul takes classes himself, searching especially for those outside his knowledge base.
A graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago with several degrees in Mathematical Physics followed by a MBA at Northwestern, Paul soon found himself knee deep into computers. He developed accounting systems for securities on computers, primarily for banks. Paul’s expertise is broadly inclusive of information technology especially as it relates to the Banking/Brokerage business. This was his career for many years even at one point becoming a technology director for McDonald Corporation (yes, the hamburger store). “I am a problem solver,” Paul smilingly reports. “Give me a problem and I’m happy! And I learned that looking for the perfect solution to a problem should not always be the goal. Instead, the question must be: with the time we have and the money we have, what is our best solution?” He continues, “the perfect is the enemy of the good. We sometimes ignore a sustainable solution in our search of an unobtainable perfection”.
After working in this industry over thirty years, Paul started his own consulting business, working with banks and brokerage firms designing computer systems to fit their needs.
A friendly, easily approachable person, Paul and his wife Nora, whose background is also information technology, have two, grown, married sons and grandchildren-- some in Texas and some in Minnesota. They have cruised and toured quite extensively, but recently find themselves doing less of this in favor of family gatherings and volunteer activities at home. “I have volunteered at the Southern Seasons Cooking School for years and my wife is a volunteer Medicare counselor for Orange County.” Paul does a lot of the daily cooking at home and the couple exercise all they can. “Nora is a wonderful photographer, she quilts, knits, and reads a lot” Paul proudly reports. They are active, involved, and I suspect, never at a loss for an activity that makes them happy.
“I love my teaching and try to make class fun and organized and interesting. If my classes help somebody along the way, I am excited and gratified”.
This gifted, giving, gracious teacher is one of our OLLI gifts to you, the student. Run, don’t walk to any of his classes. You will be challenged to extraordinary learning.
Editor's Note : If you would like to show appreciation to the profiled instructor, you can email to instructor-profile@olliatduke.org