Meet the Encore 55+ Learning Instructors
- Carol Agnew
- Charles Banevich
- Dan Baron
- Vera Bartasavich
- Karen Brucken
- Herb Burns
- Bonny Carroll
- Josephine Katie Evans
- Avery Fromet
- Judith Khaner
- Charlene Mileti
- LeAnne Miller
- Gerry Nemeth
- Beth Parnin
- Barbara Perkins
- Ted Smith
- Anne Stottler
- Walter Topp
- Susan Ungham
- Linda Palko Witkowski
- Betty Zak
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Approximately five years, on and off.
What sort of courses do you teach? Nature Journaling and Nature Drawing and, this coming semester, Northeast Ohio Wines 101.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? To become comfortable and have fun with the process of tasting wine, the vocabulary, etc., and the history of some local wineries with guest speakers.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? At Tri-C, Nature Journaling, but I have taught wine tasting at another education institution. Both are enjoyable.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? When a participant described the object she drew and how it related to her heart and her relationship with God. She drew a walnut, a soft inner area protected by a hard shell ― what is in her heart she needed to protect.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? To have a better understanding of the different wines and their regions, what they are and why they are different, to feel comfortable buying wine and to find enjoyment when exploring different wines and wineries.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? Lifelong learning is essential to growth ― to be amazed while discovering unchartered territories, to have a roomful of lifelong learners that add richness to any discussion and to learn due to interest and curiosity ― not just out of need ― is very freeing.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I’ve been teaching Encore for five-plus years.
What sort of courses do you teach? Usually, a course(s) related to psychology. I’m a psychologist. Presently, I’m teaching “Historic Figures in Psychology.”
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? I teach my Encore course like a typical college course (syllabi, worksheets) with lots of psych terms and stuff.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? I enjoy the course I am presently teaching, but I have taught a psych assessment course and liked that course.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? When I returned to Encore after a three-year absence, my students greeted me with warmth and kindness. I was touched by their understanding.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope my students find the class entertaining and informative. If they continue to investigate and search psych stuff, I am thrilled. I love teaching and learning.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Five years
What sort of courses do you teach? Basic Estate Planning 101 and Don’t Go Broke in a Nursing Home
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Students get a hands-on approach to comprehensive estate planning through real-life examples and strategies. At the end of each course, students will understand how to avoid probate, what tools are necessary for every situation, and how to reduce nursing home costs.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Introduction to Estate and Long-term Care Planning
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? I use my dog, Bubba, as the theme of the class. In the first class, I show a picture of this adorable 8-week-old puppy. As we all know, things change. Each class has a new picture of the puppy getting older and getting into trouble. One time I surprised the class on the last day by having Bubba come in for a visit.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? Participants should gain a vast knowledge of planning for their family through practical means.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? I started my educational career at Tri-C almost 20 years ago. After attaining an undergraduate degree in business and then a doctorate in law, I now teach in the same classrooms I once sat in. The participants of my class teach me something almost every day. Regardless of age or education, it’s imperative to keep our minds occupied for good health. Being able to contribute to Encore is an absolutely humbling privilege. I look forward to the day when I will once again be sitting at the desk I once started at.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? My first class was in the spring of 2019.
What sort of courses do you teach? Health and wellness topics.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Evidenced-based information on health and wellness topics applicable to themselves, family or friends. My classes bust the misinformation that is so readily available.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? The pre-diabetes series teaches how to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes, which is at epidemic levels in the U.S. adult population.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? I ran into a participant in the program that had taken my class a year prior. She thanked me for the information provided in the class and for a handout she referred to often. I’m always happy to help others.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? A sense of confidence from taking on a new wellness or health behavior.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? As a lifelong learner, I know I crave new knowledge. We are never too old to learn new subjects, and learning keeps us young (important for brain health). Also, learning is a great way to keep up to date in a fast-paced world.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been an Encore instructor since January 2023.
What sort of courses do you teach? I teach courses based on the Food Over Medicine philosophy. Although focusing on different topics, each course explores how the food you eat affects your long-term health.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? The students should expect to hear information that can challenge their current beliefs regarding food and health. The courses are based on solid research, but the results are not always publicized.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Any course that allows me to share information regarding what food can do for your health.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? The ideas people attending a class are willing to share and conversations that can result.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope participants gain new knowledge from my course and are inspired to dig deeper into a topic of interest. Then they will use the information to make informed decisions regarding their health.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? To me, lifelong learning means having the mindset that you are never too old to learn something new. It keeps you interested in life. By attending classes, you have the opportunity to connect with others and discover different points of view.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been an Encore instructor since September 2022.
What sort of courses do you teach? I teach the Black Laws of Ohio.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Students can expect to learn about racially discriminatory laws against African Americans in the 19th century in Ohio.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? My favorite course is the Slave Bible. I take great pleasure in engaging the students and their responses with interesting questions. I hope that the students will draw lessons from the past to recognize the formation of unjust laws and gross misinterpretations of scriptures.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? Armed with this knowledge, students will be well-equipped to prevent unjust legislation and guard themselves against false doctrines.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? For me, lifelong learning grants me the opportunity to inform the general public about disturbing events they were unaware of.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been an Encore Instructor since January 2023. The winter session at the Tri-C Western Campus was my first-time teaching.
What sort of courses do you teach? I am teaching watercolor journaling. Watercolor journaling is an opportunity to record everyday events and chronicle once-in-a-lifetime trips.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? We review the journaling process in a sketchbook. We discuss watercolor basics, understanding color, brush strokes and composition on a page. I also teach the fundamentals of lettering.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Watercolor journaling is my favorite.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? Students sharing their journaling experiences and paintings.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope the participants gain an understanding about the simplicity and beauty of water coloring. Journaling allows you to take your art everywhere that you go and to make art a part of your life.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? We should all be open to learning new skills at any age. Learning keeps us all young and engaged in life.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Summer 2022 was my first-time teaching Exercise in the Chair. I enjoyed the students and the class.
What sort of courses do you teach? I teach Exercise in the Chair, Meditation and the GEN 1070 First-Year Experience one-credit course since the 2016 fall semester.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Students can learn techniques such as breathing exercises and how to sit in a chair while exercising. Students can use these skills every day at home on the couch or in a chair.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? I taught two favorite courses ― Exercise in the Chair and Gen 1070 First-Year Experience. Each class has given me the opportunity to connect and build positive relationships with students and understand the importance of diversity, inclusion and equity by including all of my students from all walks of life and learning from each other.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? Yes, when the ladies tell me they enjoy the class. and I see a smile on their faces.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope participants understand the importance of exercise to stay healthy and feel good.
What does “lifelong learning “ mean to you? Why is it important? Lifelong learning to me is important because you never get too old to learn, and learning can be both challenging and fun. Lifelong learning allows me to give back to the community and share my story of how I made it to inspire others. I learn something new each day.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Four years.
What sort of courses do you teach? History.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Discussion of historical figures and places.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? History of the U.S. Constitution.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? When I'm asked questions, it tells me the students are listening and engaged.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? Historical perspective on people or places that they were not aware of or knew little about.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? You're never too old to learn something new. No matter your age, keep your mind engaged. Like grass, if your mind is not engaged, it goes to seed.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been an Encore instructor for almost a decade.
What sort of courses do you teach? As an award-winning photographer and retired teacher, I teach photography courses.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? Using my own easy-to-learn theory, students judge their photographs and produce more meaningful and rewarding photos.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? One favorite course I taught was “Making Photo Books.”
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? One favorite course I taught was “Making Photo Books.” I learned about my students’ interesting lives as they shared personal photos while making photo books on Tri-C computers.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? Participants will discover their own photography influencers and use them ― along with my theory ― to produce more meaningful photographs.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? As an Encore student since my retirement in 2008, I thrive on learning new information about everything. Lifelong learning helps seniors relate to people of all ages.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Four years.
What sort of courses do you teach? All of my courses include an emphasis on philosophy and how its ideas have affected the history and life of Western civilization. Past courses have focused on political theory, metaphysics, morality and history.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? That a lasting love of learning will take root.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Each of them, because I only teach courses that I am passionate about.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? Last semester, in the course “Why is Democracy so Fragile?” a debate ensued between liberal and conservative positions in the U.S. At the end of that conversation, both views were reconciled through a calm, collaborative and rational dialogue. No teacher could hope for a better demonstration of how the actual process of learning takes place in a classroom.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? My hope is to imbue each person with the realization that it is only through lifelong education that the most important lessons of self-knowledge can occur.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? I begin each class with the knowledge that each person has voluntarily come to learn something from me. Accordingly, I have the distinct privilege and responsibility to not only meet that expectation but exceed it.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I’ve been an Encore instructor since 2019.
What sort of courses do you teach? My initial classes covered self-publishing and some non-fiction. Now, I only do fiction, my favorite.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? The current course is for people who are writing novels or would like to be writing novels. In addition to comparing writing techniques, we discuss motivational quotes from legendary authors. That begins with Ernest Hemingway’s “Write drunk; edit sober.” And from the indomitable Anne Frank, “I can shake off everything as I write. My sorrows disappear. My courage is reborn.” And Louis L’Amour, “Start writing, no matter what. The water doesn’t flow until the faucet is turned on.”
We also discuss authors who are new and exciting such as Delia Owens. A first-time author at the age of 74, Owens’ suspense-filled murder mystery “Where the Crawdads Sing” is now a major motion picture.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? My favorite teaching moments come from hearing what class members write in response to automatic writing prompts. They are usually very funny and so well done. The positive response from the class is often a pleasant surprise to the person reading. For instance, a woman who wrote and read a hilarious and explicit description of her neighbor realized, because of the group’s laughter and applause, that maybe her friends were right when they called her a writer.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? My hope is that people read some of the books on the list and that they keep writing.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? To me, lifelong learning is essential. It helps maintain good mental health and self-esteem. Bonus: research links perpetual learning with extended life expectancy.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Twelve years altogether ― 2006-2008 and 2012-present.
What sort of courses do you teach? TV Game Show Fun, Cleveland Sports Highlights and Lowlights, Amusement Parks of Yesteryear, Let’s Go Back in the Way Back Machine and It’s So Commercial.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? To be entertained and enlightened. Prizes and a few surprises.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? A tie between the TV Game Show Fun class and the Cleveland Sports Highlights and Lowlights class.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? I love surprising my Encore students with guest speakers. Often I show a video clip from a TV game show while the person featured in the video is sitting in the back of the class inconspicuously. Then there is a slight pause, I introduce the person, and the students respond with gasps and applause.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope that they learn a few things and walk away from each class smiling.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? It is important for physical and mental health to keep the brain active. The Tri-C Encore program is a great way to accomplish this.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been teaching for Encore for 21 years.
What sort of courses do you teach? I teach the Fun With Fitness and Line Dance classes. Both classes involve the basics of fitness and movement.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? The goal is to have fun while working toward a better mind and body. All exercises and dances are specifically geared toward seniors and accommodating the natural aging process. One reason I feel I am qualified ― besides many certifications ― is that I am an 80-year-old senior. I do understand the limitations and challenges aging can present. Everyone is encouraged to work at their own level or how they feel that day. Dancing and remembering new patterns, as in line dancing, is so very beneficial for the mind. This is providing new mazes in the brain instead of using the same old patterns. The fitness classes provide low-impact aerobics as well as different types of resistance work. Chair work is also a part of the workout. We gradually work harder every week. The most important thing, I feel, is that we have fun and can laugh during every class while taking the content seriously.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope everyone just feels better about themselves while having fun meeting the challenges of maintaining good health.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? I have great respect for those who attend Encore. They are lifelong learners who love making new friends while learning many new things or enjoying topics that are important to them. They all make valuable contributions to all the classes they take. I learn so much from them as they share all they experienced in the classes they are taking. So grateful to be involved with Encore!
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Twelve years
What sort of courses do you teach? Music
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? To be inspired and motivated to listen to music differently.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Music With a Message - I’m interested in the impact songs can have on our feelings and moods. Experiencing the moving and often provocative texts of many of the songs, the music I presented brought tears to many students' eyes. The feedback I received was gratifying. It turned out to be one of the most popular courses I've taught.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? One of my most memorable experiences happened when I presented a number of lesser-known contemporary composers whose music was different from what most students had heard. After one of these classes, a student told me he was planning to get some music from the featured composer, who was now one of his favorites. Seeing the "lightbulb" go off for him made my day!
What do you hope participants gain from your class? My goal has always been to whet the appetites of my students, encouraging them to pursue the information I've given them and to learn more about the topic.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? When a person reaches retirement and more available time, it's a prime opportunity to continue a viable life filled with stimulating experiences. One of the optimum ways to do that is to learn new things ― to check off those items on their bucket list. The Encore program is such an ideal way to broaden their horizons and to explore new areas of interest. Learning new things gives us purpose and revives the sense of wonderment and curiosity that we've always had.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Eleven years
What sort of courses do you teach? Religion, Spirituality, Music - Anything that inspires me and interests the students
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? We explore the sequence of creation events described in Genesis and its striking similarity to events in the Big Bang model of science. Einstein showed us that time is relative. Each Genesis day claims to be 24 hours long. How can that be, when science maintains the universe is billions of years old? Perhaps Einstein’s time dilation law plays a part.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Genesis and the Big Bang - I’ve always been fascinated with reconciling science and spiritual matters. Both disciplines are focused on determining what is real but approach this ever-elusive “unchanging truth” from different angles.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? Folks are usually amazed and encouraged at this unique viewpoint. It gives them something to contemplate and enlarges their view of the universe and our place in it. I love that!
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I hope they have something to ponder for the rest of the day. No one has to agree with me 100%.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? Everything in nature is either growing or shrinking, including our brains. If we don’t keep stimulating our brains, they won’t grow. In Encore students meet interesting people and make new friends. Everyone has a great experience, which allows them to expand their horizons in unimaginable ways. Try it once, and it’ll become a way of life!
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I have been the Eastern Campus site facilitator since 2004 but only started teaching a few years before the pandemic.
What sort of courses do you teach? Art History ― individual artists, their lives, styles and a simple project in their style; Art Travelogue ― different countries' history and a project indigenous from there; and Art/Crafts ― a variety of fun DIY projects.
What can students expect from your course over the seven-week session? I give a basic overview of the artist or country ― just enough information that pertains to the project we are doing. We use different art supplies each week and learn different techniques of use. I try to make my classes fun and non-threatening so everyone of all abilities can succeed.
What is your favorite course that you've taught? I have so many favorites. I enjoy them all, but if I had to choose it would be studying the different artists. Each artist has their own little quirk that I like to share with the students ― some obscure bit of information that I find in my research.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? At the end of each session we have an art show and display all the works that the students produced. I love to see the pride on their faces while setting up the show and other people's positive reactions when they walk by. It always amazes me that from one assignment you get 24 different interpretations of that subject. That's what art and life are all about.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? We all have our own particular talents. Not all of us are great artists or close to it, but if we can learn something and have fun doing it, that's all that matters. We can gain an appreciation for those who do and an understanding of how they did it.
What does "lifelong learning" mean to you? Why is it so important? I was encouraged to go back to school and finish my degree when I was 36. So while raising my two girls, I gradually took classes, graduated and began my art teaching career. I have been learning ever since. It is never too late to begin again. Encore has given me a place to "hang out" with my peers, hear their stories, tell mine and make some incredible friendships.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? One year. My first session was spring of 2022.
What sort of courses do you teach? A mix of history and contemporary government affairs. Currently, I teach a course on Policing in America and a second course on the development of modern Cleveland. I am developing additional courses on immigration, recent Cleveland history and police reform.
What can your students expect from your course over the seven-week session? A thoroughly researched and carefully organized examination of the historical period or governmental function being studied, with occasional references to my personal experience.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? Probably the Cleveland history course that I presented in the fall because it had the most students, and they were actively engaged with the material throughout the session.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? While I enjoy sharing course material with students, I especially enjoy conducting research and preparing class content. Course preparation is an opportunity to immerse myself in topics that interest me.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? An appreciation for the rich history and the complexity of our community and an improved understanding of how government actually operates.
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? Lifelong learning is a way to stay active, engaged with your community and open to new experiences and adventures.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? After several happy years as an Encore student, I became an equally happy Encore instructor in 2019.
What sort of courses do you teach? Because I am a retired librarian, my courses deal with libraries, reading and learning in some way. I have taught courses about raising grandchildren to become readers, the secrets of the public library (Shh!) and TED Talks discussions.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? The TED Talks discussion course is my current favorite. It was great to get to know my students better and to hear their thoughts and personal stories through our discussions. We became a new circle of friends.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? My favorite teaching moment happened when my teenage grandchild attended one of the TED Talk discussions as part of a tour of the Tri-C campus. I was uncertain how my students would react to a teenager in our class ― much less a transgender person. The respect, acceptance and warmth my students showed my grandchild were wonderful to see. Encore students are simply the best.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I always hope that they feel accepted and heard, entertained and more informed. Bringing a bit of humor into their lives is always good too!
What does “lifelong learning” mean to you? Why is it so important? It's an opportunity to keep growing, changing and living life to the fullest.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? I’ve been teaching Encore classes for five years.
What sort of courses do you teach? I lead an organization called Women in History. My Women’s Suffrage class continues the mission of that organization to educate, educate, educate wherever possible on women’s issues. My M.A. in Modern Language and Literature, as well as my 50-year career in information technology, have given me quite a bit of ammunition to fill my “famous folks” biographies classes.
What is your favorite course that you’ve taught? My Women’s Suffrage class shines a light on some of the better-kept secrets of history. The movement was far from being a “bloodless revolution” as it has sometimes been called. My biographies allow me to enhance my students’ knowledge of figures who are usually only summarily described. It is always fun for me to travel through Coco Chanel’s love affairs and see how she turned each of them into fashion statements.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? I simply hope that these classes will lead students to continue to follow these topics on their own and perhaps to understand that humor can be found in unexpected places!
What does "lifelong learning" mean to you? Why is it so important? “Lifelong learning” is as important as breathing in and breathing out.
How long have you been an Encore instructor? Twenty years in Encore and 35 years as a college professor and business professional.
What sort of courses do you teach? Having degrees in a number of disciplines, I teach classes in history, humanities, music and biology. I focus on the people, their personalities, motivations and outcomes.
What can students expect from your course over the seven-week session? I strive to have students expand their knowledge of a topic while having a little fun doing it. Real people “make the world go around,” and it is the understanding of those people ― what they did and why and how they did these things ― that makes the stories interesting.
What is your favorite course that you've taught? I only teach classes that excite me and can excite my students.
Do you have a favorite teaching moment or memory from your Encore experience? After 20 years, too many to tell here.
What do you hope participants gain from your class? An enthusiasm for delving into the when, where and why of the world around us.
What does "lifelong learning" mean to you? Why is it so important? Lifelong learning is about discovering more about the world and the people around us and living life to the fullest.