For Arnie and Nina Kaplan, lifelong learning isn’t just a pastime—it’s a shared passion that has shaped their retirement years and deepened their connection to one another and to their community.
The Kaplans have been part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at WashU CAPS for over two decades. What began as a love of reading—sparked by a class on The New Yorker and a persuasive nudge from long-time facilitator Karen Sterbenz—quickly evolved into something more.
“I’m a big reader, and that was the initial appeal,” Nina recalls. “But I love the active quality of engaging in learning and meeting up with really good people.”
Arnie, a scientist by training, initially gravitated toward politics classes before beginning to facilitate science-related courses. Over time, however, he found a new academic love: Yiddish.
“Yiddish is my retirement subject,” he says with a grin. “I’ve facilitated classes on Yiddish humor—it’s been a lot of fun.”
Nina, meanwhile, took her writing to the next level. With encouragement from Sterbenz, she stepped into the role of facilitator.
“I mainly lead writing classes—writing for yourself and others—but every now and then, I’ll do a short course on Georgia O’Keeffe,” she said. “And I attend a lot of classes with Arnie, too.”
Together, they’ve discovered a new rhythm.
“We’ve started facilitating together,” Arnie says. “And we’re learning a lot about working as a team.”
For both Kaplans, the heart of OLLI lies in its people and its enduring community.
“This organization has been able to survive and create and just keep on going for over 30 years,” Nina reflects. “There is a lot of support here.”
Beyond the classroom, OLLI has offered a sense of purpose and connection.
“It’s so important to engage,” Nina says. “One of the hardest things about aging is the risk of isolation, and OLLI is an antidote to that. It keeps you hopping and current.”
Though Arnie jokes that he misses when he was paid to teach instead of just volunteering, he readily acknowledges the personal rewards.
“You do it just for the love of it,” he says. “It’s made me a better writer. We’ve had a lot of laughs and met so many wonderful people.”
The Kaplans’ OLLI experience is more than just a series of classes—it’s a creative, intellectual partnership that has enriched their retirement and brought them closer together.
“We made new friends. It became a creative retirement,” Nina says. “We love the energy and the community.”