WC-ALL: The Tradition Continues Via Zoom with Jan Elvin

For perpetual students with a thirst for learning, WC-ALL offers a host of classes, from seminars about the musical “Hamilton” and constitutional law to infectious disease and baking bread.

Since 1992, Washington College’s Academy of Lifelong Learning (WC-ALL), a peer-led, self-supported autonomous department of the College, has been attended by thousands of adults who want to learn for the joy of it.

The Spy interviewed Jan Elvin, former Council Member and Council Chair of the program, to find out how the program was adjusting to the new normal of online instruction.

“We’ve held our own pretty well through having to go through this huge change to Zoom classes. There was some concern that people would not want to do it, but WC-ALL members are by definition are smart and curious and eager to learn, so we’ve had a pretty easy time switching to Zoom,” Elvin says.

Each college semester, a six-week session offers 12-15 courses. Members of the program pay one all-inclusive fee and may take as many courses as they wish.

One of the popular programs at WC-ALL is their “Learn at Lunches” meetings, an on-site gathering of members to meet with lecturers from out of town. Although the on-site program has been suspended, Learn at Lunches will continue virtually with a class on “Civil War Music” taught by broadcast journalist Geoff White scheduled for January 14.

Elvin says that finding instructors has been a fairly easy task since Chestertown is replete with retired professionals. Even though WC-All has a committee tasked with finding volunteers, willing participants are discovered more often by word of mouth.

The Spring class instructors introduction is slated online at 3 pm January 5, and registration is open from December 18 to January 18.

Here, we talk with Elvin about how she and her husband, eminent ACLU attorney Alvin Bronstein discovered Chestertown and how she became an integral part of the WC-ALL program.

This video is approximately seven minutes in length.To find out more about WC-ALL and to register for the Spring semester, go here.