WISE up! Never too old to learn something

Chloe Chidester
In Motion Staff Writer

College is the traditional route for high school students to get a good job, make a lot of money and generally have a good life. While not restricted solely to adolescents, they do make up a higher proportion of students on campuses around the world.

But some students are considerably older than recent high school graduates. Some decided, after several long years at one job, that they really want to do something else before it’s too late. Some need extra classes for their current job to get a better position in their company. Some just want to learn something new.

That is where the WISE program at Daytona State College comes in. Since 2009, the series of educational workshops has offered continuing education for old and young inquiring minds in the community. To date, the program has presented close to 300 workshops and seminars, some for educational purposes and others strictly for entertainment.

In 2009, Jerome “Jerry” Krueger and his wife Dr. Esther Krueger spearheaded the idea of senior education at Daytona State College. Jerry had been on the Board of Trustees for Union County Colleges in New Jersey and had also been a part of LIFE, or Learning Is Forever — an educational program geared toward senior citizens with classes offered off-campus at times and locations more convenient for their students.

Once the idea was broached with the president of the college, all they needed were people to come to it. Together with Dr. Bernard “Bud” Gropper, his wife, the late Dr. Roberta Gropper, and John and Louis Sauter, the WISE program was born.

The initial headcount was 75 seniors; at its peak, 350 members were in the audience. Today, an average of 260 people gather for each seminar. Donald Large, the former Mayor of Daytona Beach Shores and current member of the Advisory Committee for WISE, believes that their membership will only continue to grow. In 2015 alone, the group has grown large enough to have to move out of the Madorsky Theater and into the culinary hall in the Mori Hosseini Center, Building 1200.

Large was referred to the program in the early 2010 by a friend and he himself is responsible for three or four referrals of his own since then.

Kent Ryan, Dean of the Flagler and Palm Coast DSC campuses, enjoys the program and the people immensely. “They’re full of opinions,” says Ryan, who heads the Advisory Committee for the WISE program, along with a number of volunteers.

“It’s all funded by the members,” Ryan explains. “There are no sponsors. An annual membership is $25 for one person, and $45 for a couple. That includes access to the seminars, but also the DSC libraries and other facilities. They also get refreshments after seminars and discounted tickets to certain events, and they are allowed to bring guests to lectures as well.”

The lectures range from discussions about immigration laws to yoga and all topics are chosen by the Advisory Committee. If a particular seminar doesn’t speak to a member, they are not obligated to attend, but a lot of members say this is not an issue.

“We try to think of what would be of interest to seniors and base everything around that,” Large says, adding that some of the main interests are politics, entertainment and current events.

A lot of the speakers are DSC professors, but most are just people selected from the community.

“We try to use local experts,” says Bud Gropper, a founding member. “They can tell us about their experiences and their stories.”

The WISE program is offered by the Daytona State College Foundation and meets every Tuesday in the Mori Hosseini Center from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and is open to seniors 50 and older, as well as whatever age guest they want to bring.

Upcoming events for the Spring semester include: “Food, Climate and Drug Interactions” with Dr. Andrew Harris on March 2 ; “Social Media Part 2 – Twitter and Instagram with your Grandchildren” with Dr. Ronald Eaglin on March 3; “Diseases Threatening Florida” with Dr. Ken Nusbaum on March 10; “Daytona One Update with DIS” with Andrew Gurtis on March 31; “Myths, Mysteries & Legends of St. Augustine” with Dr. Nancy Duke on April 7; “Marine Discovery Center: Prescription for an Ailing Lagoon” with Chad Truxall on April 14;, “Laughter Yoga is the Best Medicine” with Diane Trask on April 21; and “Diabetes: Myths and Facts” with Professor Myra Vergani on April 28.

For information on the programs, call 386 506 4425 or visit their website DaytonaState.edu/Foundation.