Volunteer Profiles
OLLI gives Lise a way to "explore intriguing new topics."
Meet Lise Jenkins
A Great Adventure...that's how OLLI at Duke's webmaster Lise Jenkins describes OLLI. A 4-year member, Lise has contributed to OLLI in many ways, including serving on the Board of Advisors, briefly chairing the Arts and Architecture Curriculum Subcommittee, chairing the IT Committee for nearly 2 years, teaching classes (Cathedrals of Great Britain; Durham Architecture), and producing OLLI’s popular video series which can be found on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/olliatdukevideos).
A self-described "farm girl," Lise's ties to the land carry through in her volunteer work as a Durham County Master Gardener. She is the third generation in her family to work for the Cooperative Extension Service. Her first job out of college was with a land-grant university, using technology to bring new educational opportunities to rural schools in Oklahoma. At that time, the technology to transmit video /audio to remote locations was large and expensive. Lise marvels that work, which once required multi-million dollar production facilities, can now be done from the iPhone she carries in her purse.
After earning her doctorate and working 25 years in the technology industry, Lise now retired and enjoys OLLI classes about history, notably Billy Yeargin's Civil War classes, Linda Carl's "Travelling the Silk Road" seminar series, and Peter Feline’s recent course on The Sixties.
But as a geek girl technology is never far from Lise's mind. While recognizing the frustrations technology brings to modern life, she says it's a fun time to be a techie and see all the different ways people use technology to accomplish their goals. She is particularly proud of the work OLLI has done in using technology to better communicate across the membership. “Our YouTube channel has opened OLLI’s doors wide – to our members, the university, and our community” she says. This summer she will represent OLLI at Duke at the OLLI Southern Regional Conference in Athens, Georgia and present a workshop on digital tools and hyper syndication.
OLLI gives Lise a way to "explore intriguing new topics." She is "amazed and humbled" by the life stories of the people she meets at OLLI, reinforcing her strong belief that retirement "doesn't mean you stop." Looking to the future at OLLI, Lise envisions a new home for OLLI, "an amazing space on par with the caliber of our members."
Lise and her husband Rick, a retired patent attorney and also an OLLI member, are busy building a new home, but she continues to attend classes (she is taking "How Airports Work" this term), and she is invaluable as OLLI’s webmaster. Maybe after the house is built, she'll consider teaching a class on how to build a house, how to grow the perfect tomato or azalea, or how to use an iPad to accomplish your goals.
A self-described "farm girl," Lise's ties to the land carry through in her volunteer work as a Durham County Master Gardener. She is the third generation in her family to work for the Cooperative Extension Service. Her first job out of college was with a land-grant university, using technology to bring new educational opportunities to rural schools in Oklahoma. At that time, the technology to transmit video /audio to remote locations was large and expensive. Lise marvels that work, which once required multi-million dollar production facilities, can now be done from the iPhone she carries in her purse.
After earning her doctorate and working 25 years in the technology industry, Lise now retired and enjoys OLLI classes about history, notably Billy Yeargin's Civil War classes, Linda Carl's "Travelling the Silk Road" seminar series, and Peter Feline’s recent course on The Sixties.
But as a geek girl technology is never far from Lise's mind. While recognizing the frustrations technology brings to modern life, she says it's a fun time to be a techie and see all the different ways people use technology to accomplish their goals. She is particularly proud of the work OLLI has done in using technology to better communicate across the membership. “Our YouTube channel has opened OLLI’s doors wide – to our members, the university, and our community” she says. This summer she will represent OLLI at Duke at the OLLI Southern Regional Conference in Athens, Georgia and present a workshop on digital tools and hyper syndication.
OLLI gives Lise a way to "explore intriguing new topics." She is "amazed and humbled" by the life stories of the people she meets at OLLI, reinforcing her strong belief that retirement "doesn't mean you stop." Looking to the future at OLLI, Lise envisions a new home for OLLI, "an amazing space on par with the caliber of our members."
Lise and her husband Rick, a retired patent attorney and also an OLLI member, are busy building a new home, but she continues to attend classes (she is taking "How Airports Work" this term), and she is invaluable as OLLI’s webmaster. Maybe after the house is built, she'll consider teaching a class on how to build a house, how to grow the perfect tomato or azalea, or how to use an iPad to accomplish your goals.