The people of Osher: curious, energetic, creative...
Osher members come in all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life. You don’t need to be an RIT alum, or have an MBA or an MD after your name. You don’t even have to have prior college experience. You only need to love learning…and to be 50 or older.
"I didn’t know that the world was full of these extraordinary people. I didn’t know that and I’m delighted to learn it."
"If a class is based on a reading that folks have done, you go in and say, 'So what do you think?' and an hour and a half later, you pack up! Sometimes that’s all there is to leading a class—because people are so vital."
"Sometimes you meet new people and you just talk on the surface for 10 or 15 minutes and then you don’t have anything to talk about any more. At Osher it seems you always have something to talk about with people, because they have a variety of interests—sports, literature, history. They travel. They’re interested in other people traveling..."
Meet some of our members
We currently have more than 600 members... so there's always someone new to meet! Some members are here four days a week, all day long, taking as many courses as they can fit in. Others stop in one or two days a week for a favorite class. You decide how Osher fits into your life.
New members keep Osher fresh and stimulating. (When you see them around The Athenaeum building, be sure to introduce yourself!)
Courses at Osher are led by members, but members don’t just lead courses; they are the entire organization of Osher. They sit on the Osher Council and other committees, develop curriculum, lead courses, organize trips and social events, and staff the various activities, too.
"I never would have believed, having lived in Rochester my whole life, that at this stage in my life I would make a whole set of new friends. And I have."
