Introduction
Bard LLI managed to produce their Online Programs starting with SummerFest in June 2020. The team that produced these programs had never heard of Zoom prior to March or April, and the success of Bard LLI’s online programs was the result of hours and hours of meetings, rehearsals, and planning sessions. Some of the all-volunteer members who pulled this together joined Bard LLI as recently as 2019 and 2020! In Part 2 of this two-part series, we profile some of these members and ask why they volunteered to join us on this journey, devoting so much time for no pay. Here’s what they had to say.
A Newbie Joins In
Kathy Adin just joined Bard LLI in 2020 and has yet to take an in-person class. When she applied she was encouraged to volunteer to manage a class, as she was already experienced with Zoom. She was immediately welcomed as a new member and enlisted to manage a Tai Chi class taught by Annie LaBarge. Kathy reports that she encountered no real challenges taking on this responsibility. Once the class was set up and she was trained to go through all the steps, she found the class easy to manage. It helped, she said, that Annie was experienced with the technology and that tech support was always on hand from Bill Tuel. “Besides,” she says, “I was able to participate in the class, as well, which was a great side benefit!”
Kathy was a longtime school librarian for Arlington High School and now is co-coordinator for an Indivisible group working with a local Democratic Committee. She has done volunteer coordinating work for a variety of campaigns throughout the years. Needless to say, she was incredibly busy right up to the last Tai Chi class. She looks forward to taking and managing more classes, and encourages others to do the same. “It’s pretty simple. Anyone can do it!”
Encouraged by His Mentor
Rory Carlton relocated to the Hudson Valley from Atlanta in March 2020 and was looking forward to meeting new people when he joined Bard LLI. In his first call with his mentor, Cathy Reinis, Rory mentioned that he knew Zoom, and she encouraged him to become a session manager. While Rory would much prefer to be on campus, like all of us, he enjoyed the camaraderie and talks with people before and after his Opera as Politics class. He feels that Zoom makes it a little more challenging for the class to get to know one another but the new member orientations were helpful to learn how LLI works. His advice to members is to “Jump in! I got a lot more out of LLI by volunteering and it enriched my experience.”
The Zoom Whisperer
Known as “The Unflappable Voice of Calm” by some, Jeff Christensen has made a name for himself as a soothing presence since joining Bard LLI in 2019. Navin Sharma, profiled last month, calls Jeff “The Zoom Whisperer.” How does a furry-faced fellow get such notable titles? If you were in either one of Jon Bowermaster’s classes these last two class sessions and heard Jeff field questions from the chat box, or if you ever received any Zoom tech support from Jeff, you already know.
Jeff was involved in the Online team that pulled off the virtual Bard LLI Annual Meeting in May and then rapidly scrambled to help put the 2020 SummerFest Zoom courses together. He helped to develop mentoring and training materials as well as procedures for streaming classes, in addition to training new session managers. He does want LLI members to be aware of the many, many hours it has taken to create the seemingly flawless effect of planning and cooperation, accomplished by those in what he calls “The Magic Triangle,” consisting of the class producer, the presenter, and the session manager.
Jeff comes from a career as an information technology systems analyst. He has also involved himself in numerous volunteer projects, including the Hudson Valley Oral History Project, and he was recently appointed to the Rhinebeck Village Planning Board. He says that he gets a great deal of personal satisfaction from his volunteerism and has found his experiences with Bard LLI, in particular, “a terrific rewarding way to meet others who embrace learning and often have astonishingly interesting personal stories.”
Consider Volunteering!
Thanks to all of the Bard LLI volunteers! Volunteering can be rewarding and a great way to meet new people. Bard LLI is always on the lookout for volunteers. We are in particular need of people to be session managers for the spring semester. If you have an interest in being a session manager, please sign up on the Volunteer Opportunities website or send an email to Barbara Burns at [email protected] and let her know.
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