Shirley Zylstra
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A member of ELLA since 2013, Shirley has seen many changes and filled many volunteer roles, starting with six years as Treasurer. She was on the Eventbrite Committee when the University moved to electronic systems, selling memberships online versus emailing and doing registrations from an office; and the ELLA 15th Anniversary Committee, where she helped to write the organization’s history. When the COVID pandemic occurred and ELLA pivoted to offer online Zoom sessions, Shirley took on the role of Website Administrator. When ELLA moved from the University partnership things changed again, with ELLA assuming responsibility for processing, invoicing, printing, finding and paying for lecturers, technology and lecture rooms. That’s when Shirley became the Bookkeeper for ELLA. As Shirley says: “ELLA is resilient. We survived and still do because people obviously want and love learning. ELLA could have disappeared but we are flexible and driven to keep going.”
“My first year I was late registering and only got one of four courses I wanted, but I signed up for four. Opera was available but I wasn’t an Opera fan; Philosophy wasn’t really my thing either, but I remember attending the classes and just absolutely loving it. You don’t have to stick to what you know. I love doing that and it makes me come back. You not only learn but you learn to be open and I think that is valuable.”
“One course I really enjoyed was on the Weimar Republic before WWII. We can be set in our
opinions, have prejudices, but as we learn what and why as in history, we come out feeling
differently. We are not just learning facts but experiences that can change our minds and test our assumptions, as in how I viewed a family member after learning what she learned in school during the war vs. what I would have learned. I also learned that history repeats itself.”
“We are a community of like-minded people that love learning, questioning, exchanging
information, who love spending time in classes, meeting new people, walking around campus;
having lunch in the cafeteria, all of us with grey hair, but excited to share what we are discussing in class and in general. You may see these people only once a year but come together as old friends. ELLA is different and there is not another product like it. It’s so much more. ELLA offers classes with accredited instructors where you are immersed in the topic, not just snippets of information. We enjoy the freedom to ask questions, share our individual experiences and knowledge and get immediate feedback from classmates and the instructor. I walk out and have learned something based on expertise and research. I don’t think people appreciate the calibre of our instructors who are often top of their field. For example, the course I took on dinosaurs by Dr. Currie. We were learning cutting-edge findings even before they hit the media.”
[ Interviewedby Patricia Waisman ]