Page 51 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2025

“Can’t waste time; we have places to go, people to see, things to do.”
The Faces of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)
PAT AND SUSAN ALFORD
Although retired from years of public school teaching, Pat and Susan Alford are two of the busiest people around. They have a special interest in Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), a program at The University of Southern Mississippi, where they are both instructors, and Susan is an advisory board member and a Gulf Park member-at-large.
“We love OLLI and want to share with people who want to continue learning and doing activities throughout the coastal area,” they say. “Being involved with the people of OLLI, the fellowship and being able to learn and do new things and meet new people are what we most enjoy.”
Susan Alford says, “OLLI has made my life so much better. The people I have met and been able to do things with make the world such a better place. It is so much fun, and when I see all my OLLI friends, they smile and hug me.”
The Alfords taught in Pascagoula and Gautier, then left the area for a period. “But we found there is no place like the Mississippi Gulf
Coast, so we came back to retire,” Pat said. “The things we like best are the people and the ability to go and do all along the Coast from Pascagoula to Waveland.”
They have three adult children and five grandchildren who live in Hammond, Louisiana, and Louisville, Mississippi.
Other volunteer activities for Pat include volunteering for the Gulf Island National Seashore in Ocean Springs and volunteering at Beauvoir. Susan enjoys cooking and baking and being on the social committee for The Church at the Barn United Methodist Church in Perkinston, which is an important part of their lives.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus
228.214.3277 | usm.edu/olli
EOE/F/M/VETS/DISABILITY
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