I have a healthy future thanks to AU and online learning

• Alumni/ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences/ Learners

Transforming Lives: Learners of AU is an ongoing series where real students and alumni share how flexible online learning at Athabasca University (AU) made a difference in their lives and communities. Submit your story.

Judy Obee, Bachelor of General Studies student
Calgary, Alberta

In 1970, I graduated from the University of Calgary with a bachelor of science in math. I loved math. But between 1970 and 2009, I worked with computers. During my career, I didn't use math at all and forgot most of what I had learned. But when my grandchildren needed help in math, I could help-especially if I could review their notes to match their terminology with the vague concepts that I could remember. So, for the past few years, I have relearned high school math.

Time passes. Both of my parents lived past 90, but, unfortunately, both suffered from dementia in their later years. That is a frightening prospect for someone who is a senior citizen. I learned a lot about the various forms of dementia and determined that a healthy lifestyle would be my best defence. One part of this lifestyle would be to exercise my brain, with something more challenging than the typical computer games that seniors play: Sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, Wordle, and many others. I wanted something harder.

Using online learning to flex my brain

In 2018, at the age of 70, I took the plunge and registered for an online Bachelor of General Studies degree with Athabasca University. I had two goals. The first, obviously, was to exercise my brain. The other was to identify if I was starting to lose my cognitive abilities. In the six years since I started, I can claim that my cognitive abilities are just fine, because I am a straight-A student!

Studying with AU was an attractive proposition, because I could take anything I wanted, subject to a few restrictions. Now, way back in the 1960s, I struggled with any course that involved an essay; essay marking always felt subjective compared to math. Taking the AU plunge, I took humanities as my first course, my first brain-stretcher. This is as far as possible from math on the spectrum of academia. To my surprise, I got an A! I was astounded! Apparently, maturity-and a lot of writing experience during my career-helped.

Choosing my own (academic) adventure

Over the past few years, I have taken psychology, Spanish, economics, physics, statistics, finance, and others-anything that grabs me. I saved math for near the end; it's my reward. I still love it. I still get totally engrossed in solving problems and being "in the zone." It's wonderful!

AU's online format and flexibility have worked well with my lifestyle. We seniors need flexibility because of the demands on our time. Most of the seniors I hang out with often experience periods in which they have lost control of their calendars thanks to personal activities such as fitness, social, charities, family demands, and appointments. And even though I have a scheduled study time each day, it often gets overridden. The concept of having to physically attend a class is a non-starter.

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