• Courses
    • Professional Certificates & Courses
    • Corporate Learning
    • Online Courses
    • Executive Education
    • 50+ OLLI Program
    • Personal Enrichment Classes
    • Summer Camps
    • Intensive English Program
    Our Community Catalog
    OLLI Catalog Winter 2023
  • Careers
    • Instructor Application
    • SummerU Employment
  • Student Resources
    • Career Development Resources
    • Catalog
    • Financial Aid
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • KSU Discounts
    • Military Education Benefits
    • Scholarships
    • Events
      • Graduation
      • Book an Event
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Give to CPE
  • Login
    • Login to Register
    • Login to Moodle

Community and Professional EducationCommunity and Professional Education
  • Courses
    • Professional Certificates & Courses
    • Corporate Learning
    • Online Courses
    • Executive Education
    • 50+ OLLI Program
    • Personal Enrichment Classes
    • Summer Camps
    • Intensive English Program
    Our Community Catalog
    OLLI Catalog Winter 2023
  • Careers
    • Instructor Application
    • SummerU Employment
  • Student Resources
    • Career Development Resources
    • Catalog
    • Financial Aid
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • KSU Discounts
    • Military Education Benefits
    • Scholarships
    • Events
      • Graduation
      • Book an Event
  • About
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Give to CPE
  • Login
    • Login to Register
    • Login to Moodle
  • News

    • Home
    • Blog
    • News
    • Finding ‘Inner Satisfaction’ in Gerontology

    Finding ‘Inner Satisfaction’ in Gerontology

    • Categories News
    • Date April 18, 2017

    After 20 years of a career in art and graphic design, Pat Jenkins was inspired to make a huge career change. “I was guided internally after years of working in another passionate career. I finally got in touch with what gave me the most inner satisfaction,” she said.

    She had always felt a kindred spirit with seniors that were struggling to get their needs met. Her mother was in a wheelchair when Pat was younger and is about to turn 90 in April. She remembers the challenges that her mother faced. “Society on the whole does not accommodate nor anticipate these needs very well,” Pat said.

    She decided to research education courses to help seniors engage in life and stumbled upon an article from the AJC about Dr. Lois Ricci’s Gerontology class. Dr. Ricci has instructed this course for nearly six years and has been working in the field for more than 35 years in both hospital and academic settings as a geriatric nurse practitioner/educator and consultant. The article led Pat to the website where she was immediately interested when she realized that the course was a continuing education class. She was not familiar with Gerontology but wanted to see where this would lead.

    “I didn’t want to get another undergrad degree and it was the only type of class of its kind that I found,” she said.

    This program is designed to offer opportunities in the field of aging for those who work with older adults. The format is organized around a partnership model honoring and utilizing the skills and knowledge of academics, practitioners and other gerontology professionals. Students will also explore generational differences, growing diversity in aging and the social worlds and theories of aging people and their changing family roles.

    Once in the class, Pat felt at home. She found that hearing the other students sharing their passion and experiences made the class unique. “Mostly, I felt like I took away current knowledge of the aging process and had in-depth exposure to the many issues that seniors face in the aging process, from physicality to financial. I’m able to match the ‘realities of aging’ in my job to the classroom educational presentations,” she said.

    After graduating in May 2016, she was hired 6 months later at Sunrise Senior Living as an Activities Assistant and was quickly promoted to Activities and Volunteer Coordinator. Her job is to develop, design and implement the activities program for 80 residents with various cognitive and physical limitations including dementia and Alzheimer’s and also recruits and manages volunteers.

    For the future, she wants to continue following the path she’s on. “For students interested in the program, I would say follow your passions even if you can’t see where the road is taking you,” Pat said.

    Tag:gerontology, students

    • Share:

    Previous post

    New Courses Approved for VA Education Benefits
    April 18, 2017

    Next post

    Culinary Apprenticeship Establishes Advisory Board
    April 20, 2017

    You may also like

    Phlebotomist checking line whle patient donates blood in hospital
    Phlebotomy Graduate Lands WellStar Job
    10 January, 2022
    demo_image
    Revit Architecture Essentials Certificate Program: Begin or Advance Your Career!
    5 January, 2022
    Screen Shot 2021-12-06 at 3.30.30 PM
    Meet Our Pathway Advisors!
    6 December, 2021

    Categories

    • Events
    • News
    • OLLI
    • Personal Enrichment
    • Professional Education
    • Uncategorized
    • Youth

    Recent Posts

    • Paralegal Courses Increase Price To Support Online Learning January 19, 2022
    • All About Becoming A Pharmacy Technician January 19, 2022
    • Phlebotomy Graduate Lands WellStar Job January 10, 2022
    • Bilingual? Learn Everything About How to Become A Medical Interpreter! January 7, 2022
    • Revit Architecture Essentials Certificate Program: Begin or Advance Your Career! January 5, 2022

    OLLI Magazine

    CPE Logo

    Kennesaw - KSU Center

    3333 Busbee Drive, #3301
    Kennesaw, Georgia 30144

    (470) 578-6765

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Linkedin
    • YouTube
    • Blog

    Courses

    • Graduate College
    • All Courses
    • Professional Certificates & Courses
    • Online Courses
    • Personal Enrichment Classes

    For Students

    • Career Development Resources
    • Catalog
    • Financial Aid
    • Military Education Benefits

    Quick Links

    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Corporate Learning
    • Open House

    © 2022 Kennesaw State University - Community and Professional Education

    • Privacy
    • Policies
    • Sitemap
    • Text Only