DIANE MAKAR MURPHY YSU program for retirees -- something to CROW about

Who says camp -- or for that matter, college -- is for kids?
Certainly not Phyllis Huggins, Margaret Lorimer, Helen Crum or Millie Dieter, all semiretired or retired women ... AND college kids, so to speak. Each will spend a week this May at Youngstown State University's camp for senior learners.
CROW -- Creative Retirement Opportunities Week -- gives participants a chance to listen to dynamic speakers and socialize with lifelong learners. Enrollment in CROW is open to anyone retired or semiretired and costs $147.
"I came because of a friend. It had been so many years since I went to school. I hadn't been to college at all," said Crum, a Canfield resident and two-time CROW student. "I ended up loving it. They squeeze a lot into that one week," she said.
CROW participants will commute to YSU daily May 14 through 18 to study three topics selected by a committee of 10 seniors. This year's classes are Ethics and Medicine, Winds and Wild Weather, and Global Organized Crime.
Sampling topics: CROW, in its third year, is one of YSU's senior outreach programs that allow students to sample classes or lectures throughout the year, even venturing to other campuses. The CROW committee tries to pick topics that will interest a wide range of people and might provoke learning. ("I didn't see any point in learning to use the Internet," Lorimer said of a previous offering. "Now I'm on it two times a day.")
"There's a theatrical nature to all of the topics. In picking them, we try not to get stuck in just one area," explained John Loch, director of University Outreach. Loch said lecturers are usually previewed via the Institute for Learning in Retirement lecture series, allowing the CROW program to choose effective speakers.
"We've gotten an exceedingly positive response," Loch said. The lectures are interactive and geared toward people who make education a priority, he said.
"It's not just a lecture," said Huggins, 82. "It's very open." Huggins, who also regularly attends YSU's ILR lecture series throughout the year, was on the topic selection committee.
Social benefits: CROW also promotes the social opportunity of college, Loch said.
Students arrive for class between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Days start with coffee and pastries, and lunch is "not just fried bologna sandwiches," Loch said. "We have really nice lunches. People have time to bond." The last class ends at 3:30, though participants are free to remain on campus.
Speaking about last year, Lorimer recalled orientation and walking to her first class. "Since people are of various physical abilities, there is plenty of time to move between buildings and classes," she said.
Dieter attended CROW's first two years.
"It keeps your mind active," she said. "I had met people at ILR, and I found many of the same people at CROW. A different type of people -- forward thinking, who like to keep their minds active and think young. Interesting people and well traveled. Through coming that whole week, I got to know them. We would talk about family and make friends."
Varied backgrounds: Some attendees have a college background, like Lorimer, who has a degree in psychology. "I graduated in 1984 when my youngest child graduated from high school," she said. "I love the academic scene. I enjoy the university atmosphere and learning."
Others, however, like Dieter, never got a degree. "I didn't have the money," she said. "I married at 19. We started a business -- Dieter Heating and Air Conditioning. I went to college for business courses and helped in our business. And I've always been a person who enjoyed learning," she said. She took classes in gourmet cooking, sewing and other courses at the high school but said she didn't find her niche until signing up for the ILR and CROW programs.
"I think that's the tie for all of us," Huggins said. "We all want to learn more."
Said Crum: "You are never too old to go back."
UFor more information about CROW, call (330) 965-5800 or drop by YSU's Metro College at Southwoods Commons in Boardman.