Continue to be educated

    Whether you are interested in cake decorating, stress management or ballroom dancing, GCSU’s Department of Continuing Education offers a little bit of something for everyone.
    “We serve approximately 14,000 students per year,” said Artis Williamson, director of continuing education. “We offer more than 800 ‘in class’ type courses each year and we also offer more than 250 online courses.”
    The program not only serves GCSU students but also the Milledgeville community.
    “A lot of our students are residents of the community,” Williamson said. “We would like to see an increase in GCSU students getting involved in the programs.”
    One of the most popular courses for students is the aerobics program.
    “The continuing education aerobics program serves around 350-400 GCSU students per month,” Williamson said.     “It’s free and faculty and staff can also participate free of charge.”
    Leonor Lobon, temporary lecturer of Spanish, participates in the yoga and Zumba classes.
    “These courses offer me the possibility of doing activities that are not offered anywhere else in town. They also offer me additional ways of staying healthy,” Lobon said. “I had always wanted to take yoga and I had never had the opportunity before. I heard about Zumba through my friends and I knew it would be something I could do since it involved dancing and Latin rhythms. It is the best class I’ve ever taken.”
    Many would think that with 5,000 catalogs floating around campus and the Milledgeville community more students would get involved, but the catalog is really the department’s only way of advertisement.
    “The catalogs are placed around campus and throughout the community and that is really how we get the word out to everyone,” Williamson said.
    Briana Downs, a freshman undeclared major, had no idea about the continuing education program.
    “To be honest, I never knew it even existed. I remember getting the catalog in my freshman packet but I never actually looked through it,” Downs said. “Flipping back through it now, I see a lot of courses that I am interested in.”
    One course that Downs thinks would be great, not only for herself but also for other college students, is the basic culinary skills course.
    “I think there are a lot of college kids who have no idea how to cook and this course could really be helpful,” Downs said. “And it’s only $149 for six sessions which isn’t that bad. I know a lot of my friends would be interested.”
    All of the courses that the department offers are open to anyone and everyone with a desire to learn.
    “The personal enrichment courses are really popular these days,” Williamson said. “Cake decorating, defensive driving, painting and cooking are just some of the most popular personal enrichment courses.”
    The department offers courses throughout the year, so, depending of your budget and mood, there is more than likely a class that will fit what you are looking for.
    “There really is something for everyone,” Downs said.
    Now that Downs knows about the program, she’s going to make it a goal to take at least one course next spring.
    “I really think I could benefit from some of these courses and I think my friends could too,” Downs said.
    Lobon is thankful for the department and looks forward to taking more courses.
    “I like the fact that the people at the continuing education center take the time to offer a variety of options to our community from cooking lessons to clowning,” Lobon said. “It really is a great way to learn and relax.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 1 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry