Volunteer Profiles
"I love to teach, and I do it for the personal satisfaction I get - 'thank you' is a very valuable commodity to a teacher." - Rita Weimer
Meet Rita Weimer - by Kate Krayer
Like many OLLI volunteer instructors, Rita Weimer began her OLLI affiliation in 1998 as a student, prompted by a love of learning and a schedule liberated by retirement. She recalls one of these early courses as being particularly memorable: "It covered events of the 1960s, and what made it special was that we students represented many of the different segments of sixties society - Vietnam vets, former antiwar demonstrators, housewives, etc." - so the discussion was passionate but informed and tempered by time and wisdom. This, Rita says, is an example of the unique value that OLLI classes provide - intriguing subjects combined with a motivated, participatory class environment.
Within two years, Rita was also teaching at OLLI, utilizing her career experience as a computer programmer to teach courses on Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer and Windows 98. "I love to teach, and I do it for the personal satisfaction I get - 'thank you' is a very valuable commodity to a teacher."
When Rita started teaching in the early 2000s, OLLI students were looking for the basics - how to stay in touch with their grandkids, how to search on the internet, how to do email, etc. But as the OLLI membership became more computer savvy, Rita's course offering has also evolved. Her extremely popular NC Live course (offered in fall semester) provides a user-friendly, information-rich guided tour on navigating and using the incredibly powerful nclive.org site, with its free access to research databases, journals, newspapers, eBooks, audio books, videos, online magazines, and more. Rita's other "perennial" course is Travel Planning on the Internet (offered in winter semester). "This course is a good example of evolving to meet the student needs," she explains. "It began as more of a 'how-to' course - how to book travel, how to find airfares, etc." Now it's more focused on providing the best insider links and resources, to maximize the travel experience and budget.
In addition to teaching these two popular courses, Rita also coordinates the Conscious Aging Series on subjects of interest for older Americans. Covering everything from the latest Medicare options and tax-free investing to small ship cruises and stress management, these free lunchtime lectures enjoy continued popularity for their relevance and variety.
Rita's commitment to OLLI has included service on the OLLI Board, including two years as Board president. In 2007 she and her husband Bob, who is also an active OLLI volunteer, were recipients of the Bill Wright Award, which recognizes OLLI volunteers who have contributed outstanding service to the program.
When not busy with OLLI activities, Rita is an avid reader, and is active on several committees at Carol Woods Retirement Community where she and Bob live.
Rita envisions a future for OLLI that includes a dedicated building (and parking!) of its own. When asked to summarize OLLI, Rita Weimer simply says, "It's what keeps me young."
Within two years, Rita was also teaching at OLLI, utilizing her career experience as a computer programmer to teach courses on Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer and Windows 98. "I love to teach, and I do it for the personal satisfaction I get - 'thank you' is a very valuable commodity to a teacher."
When Rita started teaching in the early 2000s, OLLI students were looking for the basics - how to stay in touch with their grandkids, how to search on the internet, how to do email, etc. But as the OLLI membership became more computer savvy, Rita's course offering has also evolved. Her extremely popular NC Live course (offered in fall semester) provides a user-friendly, information-rich guided tour on navigating and using the incredibly powerful nclive.org site, with its free access to research databases, journals, newspapers, eBooks, audio books, videos, online magazines, and more. Rita's other "perennial" course is Travel Planning on the Internet (offered in winter semester). "This course is a good example of evolving to meet the student needs," she explains. "It began as more of a 'how-to' course - how to book travel, how to find airfares, etc." Now it's more focused on providing the best insider links and resources, to maximize the travel experience and budget.
In addition to teaching these two popular courses, Rita also coordinates the Conscious Aging Series on subjects of interest for older Americans. Covering everything from the latest Medicare options and tax-free investing to small ship cruises and stress management, these free lunchtime lectures enjoy continued popularity for their relevance and variety.
Rita's commitment to OLLI has included service on the OLLI Board, including two years as Board president. In 2007 she and her husband Bob, who is also an active OLLI volunteer, were recipients of the Bill Wright Award, which recognizes OLLI volunteers who have contributed outstanding service to the program.
When not busy with OLLI activities, Rita is an avid reader, and is active on several committees at Carol Woods Retirement Community where she and Bob live.
Rita envisions a future for OLLI that includes a dedicated building (and parking!) of its own. When asked to summarize OLLI, Rita Weimer simply says, "It's what keeps me young."