One to grow on

I am hardly the wise man on the mountaintop that you would seek out for my sage words. Nevertheless, I was recently asked to speak to a group of undergraduates about, of all things, aging. I decided to focus my talk on ageism. When I started at the Osher just over ten years ago, I had trepidations about working with older adults. I expected criticisms to flow, unfiltered from members on a daily basis. I hadn’t had a lot of experience with older adults—apart from my two grandmothers and being a product of society, I had all sorts of stereotypes of the “elderly” floating around in my head. First-day jitters quickly turned into first-day revelations as many of the myths I had about old people were debunked right before my eyes. Fast-forward to mid-April when I got up in front of a classful of college students to give them the skinny on aging. I asked them to jot down their answers to this question: “How old is old?” In other words, what is the minimum age to qualify someone as an “older adult”? If you're an older adult reading this, then of course you know that the answer is “at least ten years older” than your current age. In giving my presentation, I wanted to do what so many of the Osher members have done for me—I wanted to demystify aging and to challenge the ageist beliefs we all have. The students who graduated this spring will find themselves working with several different generations in their careers. They will start out as the young ones, but it won’t stay that way forever. The truth is that even older adults hold on to ageist thoughts that are perpetuated by their own fears and reinforced by a culture where we are bombarded with ads for “anti-aging” and “age-defying” products. Even as I say this, I have a trove of such products at home—and believe me, I see the irony. I’m a work in progress, but I also know that studies show that older adults who have more positive perceptions of aging live longer, healthier lives than those who don’t. I’ll keep this in mind when my birthday rolls around in a couple of weeks—and I hope you will too.

Stay safe and healthy,

Tracy Jacobs

The National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes Presents

“My Wild Life” with Stephanie Arne

Thursday, June 12 at 5 p.m.
Free Online Lecture

Stephanie Arne is an accomplished international wildlife conservationist, expedition guide, TV personality, and a spirited and engaging storyteller. Hear about Stephanie’s exciting journey through Africa, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Hawai’i before winning a contest to become Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’s Wild Guide. She will share tales of the adventures showcased on the show from 2013 to 2018. Stephanie aims to empower future conservationists and humanity to be better stewards of our shared natural world. Her mission is to show audiences examples of passionate people from diverse perspectives solving complex conservation issues. Working together, these stewards help increase biodiversity and create a healthier planet for all living things.

Stephanie Arne is the former host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and has appeared on Animal Planet, The Weather Channel, The Harry Connick Jr. Show, and The Drew Barrymore Show. She has also been a brand ambassador for Scubapro and CuriosityStream. She has worked with—and learned from—conservation leaders, oil spill responders, microplastics experts, ecotourism CEOs, farmers, and fishermen in Africa, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the United States.

Space is limited and Zoom registration is required.

What classes will you be taking this fall? Take a look at the Fall 2025 At-A-Glance. Classes start September 8 and run through November 7.

• Mondays and Fridays—online classes
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays—in-person classes
• We’re excited to announce that all in-person classes will be held at Edenwald
• The complete fall catalog will be online August 1
• Fall Preview of Classes will be presented online on Monday, August 4
• Registration Opens Tuesday, August 5