Roger Bryan
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I was first introduced to ELLA when I spoke to some volunteers manning a booth at the Strathcona Farmers’ Market several years ago. At the time I was working full time and filed the card away until I retired in 2024. In my first year of retirement, I was looking for ways to continue my love of learning and checked out ELLA’s website for its winter courses program. I was struck by the diversity and affordability of the courses ELLA offered.
I signed up as a member and registered for my first two online ELLA courses in January of last year: Birds of Alberta and Getting Going with Google. Both of these courses were taught by experts in their field and were amazing.
In the Birds of Alberta course, taught by Geoff Holroyd, I learned about the important research being conducted towards conservation of bird species, including the studies at the Beaverhill Bird Observatory near Tofield. This introduction attracted me and my wife to attend the Annual Supper and Saw-whet Owl fundraising event held last October to observe first-hand the banding of saw-whet owls by biologists to track their migratory patterns.
In the Google course, I gained the knowledge to be confident in using the Google suite of tools to improve my communication and connection with my family and friends.
As someone who has found that volunteering is the way to really get the most out of a lot of learning experiences, I also jumped at the opportunity when invited to volunteer as an ELLA course host. This allowed me to enhance my facilitation skills and to learn to manage Zoom meeting settings. I now use Zoom for my family calls.
Having really enjoyed my courses in the winter session, I was excited to attend the in-person ELLA spring session for the first time last April and May, participating in the Nature and Travel Photography and Steampunk courses. Before the session, I was invited to join the ELLA Marketing Committee and they asked if I would be interested in volunteering to take candid photos during the session. As a roving photographer, I found ELLA members to be welcoming, warm and open to helping us promote the courses to everyone.
The word I would use to describe my ELLA experience attending courses and volunteering as a host and committee member is REWARDING! Rewarding learning new and exciting ideas; rewarding in meeting and becoming friends with other lifelong learners, and rewarding in not knowing where my ELLA experience will take me next.
Happy 25th Anniversary, ELLA!