You are never too old to learn something new. This may sound cliché, but if you continue to use your brain, the odds are good you will maintain your ability to think, reason, and make smart decisions. Despite what you may have heard, the ability to learn new things does not diminish with age. If anything, the potential for learning continues to expand.

There are more benefits to lifelong learning for seniors than simply staying sharp. These include:

Reduced Risk of Memory Loss - Research shows that learning new things throughout your lifetime can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, “Higher levels of education appear to be somewhat protective against Alzheimer’s, possibly because brain cells and their connections are stronger.” 

Cognitive improvement. Learning causes physical changes in the brain by creating new neural connections and generating new neurons. This positively impacts memory, attention, thinking, language, and reasoning skills.

Improved self-esteem. Learning something new is a wonderful way to boost self-esteem. Learning a new skill can help you feel more confident.

Social connection. Learning in a supportive social environment helps you form close relationships that are essential for health and happiness.

Enjoyment. Retirement should be the time to do the things you always wanted to do. It is time to rekindle a former interest or pursue something new such as cooking, gardening, photography, painting, writing, volunteering … whatever brings you joy and fulfillment.

A healthy mind/body/spirit connection is key to getting the most out of life at any age. Lifelong learning helps strengthen that connection. Enrolling in a college class is one way to continue your quest for knowledge. It is not, however, the only way to engage your gray matter. Lifelong learning for seniors includes any task that challenges your thinking and requires regular engagement.

Coburg Village offers residents many opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills.

Monday afternoons, Coburg brings world renowned professors and lecturers to its auditorium screen through the Great Courses series which offers college-level audio and video courses. Topics range from the origins of Christmas music and traditions; spies: facts and fiction; inventions that changed the world; world travel; and more. Residents are also invited to participate in the Great Decisions streamed interactive lecture series on world affairs.

Meet Lifelong Educator and Coburg Village resident, Rudy Hellenschmidt.

Teaching has been a lifelong passion for Rudy Hellenschmidt. Rudy grew up in Woodstock, New York, attending elementary school in the Onteora School District. At the time, the district was made up of one-room schoolhouses sprinkled throughout the mid-Hudson Valley, which served the area from 1817 until May 1948. After college, Rudy returned to the Onteora School District to teach sixth grade social studies. There, he collaborated with teachers from the math, science, and English classrooms to develop a curriculum that tied together each of the disciplines as students moved through the subjects during the day. The program was introduced and adopted in other schools in the Hudson Valley.

After retiring in 2003, Rudy quickly discovered that he deeply missed being an educator. A friend he met teaching suggested he reach out to the lifelong-learning program at Bard College, a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-the-Hudson, NY, to see if there might be an opportunity to teach and share his affinity for the humanities. At the time, Bard’s life-long learning program was in its infancy. The only prerequisite was that participants had to be at least fifty years of age and have a thirst for learning. The program drew instructors from a multitude of disciplines, providing an outlet for individuals to teach on topics for which they had a passion. The panel of instructors was impressive to say the least and included teachers, lawyers, composers, photojournalists, graphic artists, and others. Rudy developed a curriculum focused on the humanities beginning with early humans, progressing to ancient Rome, and concluding with the Renaissance and reformation. He taught at Bard College’s program for seven years.

Rudy moved to Coburg Village in 2021 to be closer to his daughter. Sadly, his wife had dementia and moved to a nearby skilled nursing facility in Cohoes.

In October 2025, Rudy began offering his humanities class to residents at Coburg Village. There are no tests, no quizzes, and no papers to write. Rudy’s class is offered Thursdays, 10:30 am to noon. Attendance varies between eight and twenty people. Rudy finds that Coburg Village lifelong learners are very engaged and inquisitive.

Coburg Village residents are also invited to attend a course series on the American Revolution at the community offered through the Academy for Lifelong Learning. The course is offered to Coburg residents free of charge and taught by quintessential lifelong learner and Coburg resident, Jim Sefcik. You may not be able to change history, but there is always something new to discover. Jim is constantly researching the latest updates in historical knowledge to add new content to his courses. His course will begin in the spring.

For lifelong learners, like Jim and Rudy, theirs is an ongoing educational journey the Greek philosophers would stand and cheer – the pursuit of knowledge not for course credits or grade point averages, but the pure joy of discovery.