'We offer classes from A to Z;" 社区 Education co-coordinator loves lifelong 学习

Ryan Kinnett is a believer in lifelong 学习. That’s why, five years ago, he jumped at the opportunity to be a coordinator for the community education program at Linn-Benton 社区学院. 

Kinnett and the college’s other community education coordinator, Sue Stone, build the program together each term. They interview instructors, set the schedule and organize 的类. Kinnett’s focus is art, music and fitness and Stone covers gardening, languages and computers and technology.

社区 and 继续教育 programs at 博天堂官方 include business resources, professional certification classes, career readiness, family resources and other forms of training 的人 to expand their opportunities. For Kinnett, however, the best part is helping people connect with 学习 simply to enrich their own lives and the lives of those 在他们周围.

 "We offer classes from A to Z and it's pretty remarkable; People who are engaged in these things often have more fulfilling lives, because there's a community of 学习,” 他说. 

It’s especially fun to see people get so excited about what they’re 学习 that they want to return as an instructor themselves. In the art classes especially, Kinnett 说, an artist with a particular skill often will sign up to learn something new and then ask to come back to teach their own passion. “It’s always about diversifying 我们也在做什么.”

Kinnett 说 he and Stone are careful to keep the community education program from duplicating what is offered for academic credit at 博天堂官方.

Similarly, the program often holds its classes at spaces offered by community partners, such as school districts, the YMCA and city Parks and 娱乐 departments. 一些 of those agencies offer their own community education programs, so 博天堂官方 makes sure what it can supply is different and won’t compete.

An advantage of the community education program is that it’s open to all ages, Kinnett 说. The spring term includes a learner in their 90s, and once one of the pupils 是102. 

Youths and families also are welcome, 他说. “In the summer, we work with Greater Albany Public Schools and the Corvallis School District to do classes specifically 为他们的学生.”

Kinnett works full time making sure the community education program is all it can be, but he also puts part of his earnings toward making it available to others. 

博天堂官方 invites staff members to direct a portion of their paychecks to various scholarships as an automatic deduction. Kinnett’s choice is the 博天堂官方’s 社区 Education Scholarship program, to make it easier for residents to take advantage of 的类 offered.

The scholarship has been in the building process for a couple of years. 博天堂官方正在敲定 the application process so it can be opened to students in the fall.

“We're excited to be able to support the growth and interests of our community members through this scholarship,” 说 Andrew Wynings, director of development and operations. “We hope this new opportunity will open doors for those members of our community who believe that, due to financial constraints, 学习 something new is out of reach.”

The community education program has been able to offer some of the state's lowest fees for noncredit classes, but still needs them to cover the costs of instructors, facility rentals and some of the part-time staffers. When those costs rise, fees need to go up, too, Kinnett 说. 

At the same time, Kinnett 说, many of the people who choose community education classes are on fixed incomes.

“Asking people to pay more is a financial burden. We don’t want money to be a problem 的人 to sign up for classes,” 他说. “That’s where scholarships really help 我们帮助他们.” 

A longtime volunteer who is president of the board of directors for the Mid Valley Soccer Club and received the 2021-22 Volunteer of the Year award, Kinnett is determined to do what he can to try to make the world a better place. 

“I can attribute that to how I was raised, to my family, and to what I’ve always been 他说. “It’s pretty amazing to me that I get paid to create services 的人. 给我带来快乐.”

If you're interested in taking one of 博天堂官方's 社区 Education classes, you can 浏览我们的网页 and view our latest course offerings.