Beverly Brown

Beverly Brown lives in Red Deer, but that’s not stopping her from taking ELLA courses. This January she is signed up to take an ELLA Zoom class on art from Italy to Persia.   “I haven’t done any online courses because I didn’t know enough about computers…but I think I do now.” 

Beverly is 95 years old … and still learning!

A devotee of learning, Beverly, who lived most of her life in Edmonton and Sherwood Park, took University of Alberta courses for mature learners in the 1990s, then in 2001, the U of A announced it could no longer offer courses for seniors so Beverly joined a group of volunteers at Nellie’s Tea House to plot a way to keep courses for seniors going.

Beverly says it was an exciting time, and she was amazed at the crowd of people pouring into St. Timothy’s Anglican Church to help build ELLA.  “There was no trouble getting volunteers to do things. There still isn’t… there is always someone who could fill the needs that were there. All of a sudden, the space would be filled.”

Beverly made lifelong friends and credits the love of learning with longevity.  But what is it that sets ELLA apart?  Beverly says the interaction with other students makes the difference.

“Older people need stimulation.  And where do we get it? We can go to the library, but that is only half of it.  It is the interaction with other people.  It is the pull back and forth between the instructor and the students.”

Beverly praises the quality of ELLA classes. “The other night I was talking with a cousin in Toronto who is taking classes there.  I’ve tried to tell her, but not too bluntly, that our classes are far superior”.

Beverly also reminisced about students coming to ELLA from out of town. “In those early years there were two brothers who came in from Wetaskiwin every day to take ELLA courses.”  Then she mused, “But it sounds a lot easier to use Zoom!”

[ Interviewed by Kathy Kerr ]