Tom Lederer had his fair share of adventures before becoming an OLLI @Berkeley member around 2007 with a single Shakespeare class.
Born and raised in San Francisco, Tom started college at San Diego State University and then switched to San Francisco State University. After graduation, he was confronted with the age-old question of “now what?”
The answer was the Peace Corps where he was assigned to Somalia, “Spent the first two years in a remote village...I was teaching the whole time.” Having previously not travelled much at all aside from his time in San Diego, this spontaneity brought many new experiences and opened the world for him.
“You know, I just did it…if anybody had analyzed what I was doing they would’ve said I was crazy.”
His third year in Somalia was cut short when the Peace Corps was forced to leave following a military coup. “We had ten days to get out of the country,” he recalled.
His time in the Peace Corps instilled in Tom a love of travel. Over the years, he has journeyed through India, East Africa, China, Europe, and more, experiencing the world as a teacher while building a career in education in California, where he worked, first, as a principal and elementary school teacher and, then, as a high school English teacher for more than three decades. “I ran the AP (Advanced Placement) Program, directed a bunch of Shakespeare plays…the rest is sort of history.”
About 20 years ago, one of his first OLLI classes was about Shakespeare taught by Hugh Richmond and Philippa Kelly which captivated him, leading him to take other classes taught by Kelly.
“Now I just sign up for anything that potentially looks like it could be interesting to me…some of them have just been phenomenal and now I have several people whose classes I will always sign up for.”
Tom formed connections with various kinds of people within OLLI including the staff, professors, and fellow OLLI members. Smiling, he shared, “And, for the first time in my whole stinking life, I really like going to class as a student…they go places I would’ve never gone on my own.” He expressed the low stress environment and ambience of an earnest desire to learn as what’s made the difference for his experience as a student this time around.
It’s also changed what retirement might’ve looked like for him. He took a class on atomic energy which he humorously shared he knows nothing about, but was definitely interesting. “It [learning] sort of became a focus of my life in retirement…I really feel that my mind is certainly kept active.” Tom primarily takes literature and music courses, and occasionally a unique class on subjects like “iPhoneography,” all of which he’s thoroughly enjoyed.
When asked about those who might be on the fence about joining OLLI:
“Take some classes! Do it, try it out for a year, or a semester. Just take lots of ‘em. It’s fun and mind-expanding.”
Precious Karla Rios was born and raised in Salinas, CA and is a third year student at UC Berkeley studying Rhetoric. She enjoys reading and eating good food with her friends and family.