The Faces of OLLI [2]: Meet Cathy Cummins

 

[Photo credit: Susan Williams]

 

The Faces of OLLI [2]: Meet Cathy Cummins

[by Alan Sturrock, Blogger] 

 

  Prior to arriving in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2017, Cathy had worked with a number of well-known pharmaceutical companies in east coast cities that stretched from Boston to Atlanta. One particularly harsh winter snowstorm in Pennsylvania hastened the Cummins move  south.

   Soon thereafter she happened on an OLLI catalogue and was intrigued by the number and variety of courses offered, especially in the Active & Outdoors section. That first class led to several others until the advent of a national pandemic in the January 2020.

Undaunted, Cathy joined an emerging technical team led by volunteer Sandie Bateman, resulting in a focus on zoom classes for then stay-at-home OLLI members. Zoom classes helped an OLLI audience stay engaged, and as the pandemic abated somewhat, morphed into both zoom and hybrid formats.

   Cathy offered a couple of reasons for OLLI membership benefits:

[i] ‘I have learned about Wilmington  and the surrounding area. Learned its history on the walking tours. Learned about events happening at UNCW by touring the Library and Marine Science Center…’

[ii] ‘I have met many like-minded people in the classes and got introduced to other activities happening in the area. I also used connections made in OLLI classes to secure a volunteer position at both the North Carolina Aquarium and Airlie Gardens.’

   Cathy was invited to join the OLLI Advisory Council in 2024 as a representative for the Active & Outdoor classes.

A focus of Cathy’s work on the Advisory Council has been to help strengthen the relationship of OLLI to the University, advocating for a walking tour of campus and looking for opportunities to tour other University departments.

  

The Faces of OLLI [1]: Meet Pam Keegan

 

[Photo credit: Pam Keegan]

 

The Faces of OLLI [1]: Meet Pam Keegan

[by Alan Sturrock, Blogger]

   

   Prior to her arrival in Wilmington in 2015, Pam Keegan, a native of Baltimore, MD,  had fashioned her twin interests in nature and science into careers that included: [a] working at the Surgical Pathology Lab at Johns Hopkins, [b] being a research technician at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, and  [c] program management at the National Institutes for Health in Bethesda, MD [a career that spanned some twenty years].

   In 2015, Pam moved to Wilmington, NC,  and immediately sought opportunities  where she could satisfy her intellectual curiosity as well as utilize her problem-solving, problem-resolution skills.  She found a home for both in an OLLI course series, Science & Environmental Academy [SEA], which, at that time, was meeting at the Cameron Arts Museum. When the program chair announced that she was stepping down, leaving a leadership vacancy. Pam volunteered to fill it. She  formed a planning committee, and together they have been crafting intellectually stimulating programming for SEA ever since.

   The onset of the pandemic was just another problem to be solved.  Along with OLLI volunteer Sandie Bateman and the Tech Support committee,  they devised a Zoom solution to offer SEA courses to the membership. Post Covid, Pam, now a member of the Tech Support group, continued to offer SEA  via Zoom and face-to-face,  thereby creating one of the first OLLI hybrid courses.

   Pam has also found time to serve on the OLLI Advisory Board along with participating in outreach activities such as hosting a table at the New Hanover County Senior Resource Center Information Fair.

  Both the OLLI organization and the membership have benefitted from her three passions: Science, Nature & Technology.  When Pam was younger she enjoyed outdoor adventure activities such as scuba diving, skiing and sailing. She brings the same intellectual curiosity, drive and passion to her volunteering and the OLLI program is much richer for that.