By GRACE DESPAIN ’29
Updated 11:50 a.m. EDT, 25 Oct 2025
Carolyn Pollock giggles and chats like all of the other girls in Introduction to Communication Theory. The only difference is her lifetime of experience. “I suppose I wanted to just be more engaged,” Pollock said about her involvement with the ENCORE senior citizen program. “People who I thought would be more like me, interested in continuing education and relationships that are more than just ‘hi, how are you?’”
The ENCORE program enables seniors over 60 to participate in social activities around campus. ENCORE members play pickleball, create clubs and attend off-campus excursions like museums and plays. Grandparent figures in the dining hall are likely to be an ENCORE member
Director of Community Engagement Phyllis Gaerte started ENCORE in January 2020, however, its progress was quickly slowed during COVID. The program returned in the fall of 2022 with small social groups. Gaerte’s philosophy for the program is “start slow and grow.”
ENCORE, now including over 250 members, offers opportunities for members to participate in courses like Introduction to Communication Theory, Ancient Art History, Reason and Abstraction: Artificial Intelligence and American History.
“It’s mainly to enrich their lives and keep their minds working,” Gaerte said. It is necessary that “the subject matter is relevant to senior adults.”
More hands-on classes are also available to ENCORE members. Art workshops and cooking courses have also been offered in the past to achieve this goal.
However, for Gaerte, enriching lives is not only limited to arts and culture but also extends to ENCORE members’ physical health.
“Encore members get reduced Recreation club memberships at the institution so that it’s affordable for them to walk the indoor track,” Gaerte said. “We’re providing something at a discounted rate for people who wouldn’t be able to access the indoor gym to stay well and stay fit.”
Gaerte started ENCORE so that elderly adults can “remain in the community as they age.” One of her goals is to see “more intergenerational activities.” Events like board game night and the knitting group are open to students, but are not well-known. There are also monthly workshops where students assist seniors with simple tech fixes. “I would just like for students to know ENCORE exists,” she said. Most students are unaware of the ENCORE suite attached to the Van Dyk Lounge in the Campus Center. The mysterious room is a haven for these seniors.
Both ENCORE members and Houghton students feel the need for intergenerational intermingling. Houghton graduate and former president of Bartlesville Wesleyan College, Paul Mills ‘61, is an ENCORE participant of the Reason and Abstraction: Artificial Intelligence course. “I love spending time with Paul,” testified Freshman Joel Rocha, who sits beside Mills in class. “He’s a really interesting guy,” Rocha went on to relate several of the stories Mills told him, which included valuable insights about life.
Houghton students are encouraged to engage in ENCORE activities, as Gaerte expressed, “I don’t think students … can imagine the possibilities of how enriching [intergenerational mingling] can be.” ★
