Several months ago we surveyed you looking for the general state of preparedness and areas of interest. One unexpected result was that although only 33 of you said that your current employment did not meet your financial and emotional needs, 59 of you wanted more education for your desired personal or professional life. It appears that many of you have interests in education beyond advancing your careers. Because of that, we will focus on education for life enrichment, rather than career advancement, which may become its own topic in the future.
Even if you are not planning on pursuing a degree, you may still be interested in local college classes. Portland Community College is one option, with a wide range of non-credit classes listed under Community Education: http://www.pcc.edu/pcc/pro/comed/
As the courses are not for credit, there are not tests or grades or pressure, so the classes can be an enjoyable way to explore a future hobby or career, without making too big of a commitment. You can learn a foreign language, improve your writing skills, or try out vegetarian cooking.
If you know you have a high level of interest, you may wish to seek out a different source. For example, PCC has kayaking classes, but there are also local businesses that will teach that, with more options for customization. Dance studios have lessons, and then hold dances where you can put it to use. Cooking classes are offered by the Portland Culinary Institute, as an extension of its cooking school, but also by stores like In Good Taste, Whole Foods, and Uwajimaya.
Pretty much any craft store will have either its own classes or information about classes for that type of craft. This applies to large stores like Michaels and Craft Warehouse, as well as specialty store like Sharon’s Attic (for quilts) or Planet Bead (for beading). These classes will often be inexpensive because their main purpose is to encourage product sales, but if you want to participate in the hobby, it can still work for you. It is the same concept as Home Depot’s in-store clinics.
In no case should any of these mentions be taken as endorsements, so there are not many links. Google searches with the city and topic (e.g. “Hillsboro painting classes”) will bring up many options, but for recommendations you will probably want to ask around. The point is to illustrate that if you want to do something and don’t know how, chances are there are multiple options for learning it. It does not even have to cost money. Some time ago we had some ward members swapping singing lessons for cooking lessons. Maybe you can trade your knowledge to someone else.
So far the focus has been more on hobbies. Maybe you simply want to be better-informed. Reading is a wonderful way to do this, and can be completely free if you take advantage of local library services. Having so many different books to choose from can be overwhelming, but joining a book club can help you with selections. You can form a club with friends or participate with Relief Society, and book stores will often have in-store groups and online groups. You can also ask a librarian for recommendations, or combine the two by checking out the Everybody Reads project, where one book is selected each year for an entire city to read. Workshops and speakers are often scheduled to enhance the experience, and you may find strangers all over the city reading the same book: http://www.multcolib.org/books/lists/everybodyreads.html
Book stores will frequently have authors come and do readings or answer questions. These are often printed in the Sunday Oregonian, but you can also check schedules at store sites, like http://www.powells.com/calendar.html.
You can also use local classes to serve others. Master Recyclers and Master Gardeners receive intensive training on their subjects and then volunteer to teach others in the community. The Red Cross will teach your first aid and CPR, and you can take additional training if you would like to volunteer.
http://www.masterrecycler.org/
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/washington/index.php
http://www.redcross-pdx.org/services/Safety_training_home.shtml
However, if you wish to learn, serve others, and increase your own emergency preparedness, you may wish to consider CERT training.
CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team, and is based on the principle that with an area-wide disaster professional responders will be overwhelmed, so having civilians with basic training and organization can save lives. You will receive training in disaster medicine, light search and rescue, fire suppression, and organization and disaster psychology. Not only is there no charge, but for completing the class you will receive a hard hat, gloves and safety glasses, and a handy multipurpose tool that can dig, pry, and shut off gas and water.
Eligibility is determined by the city boundaries and school districts of where you live and work, so if you live in Beaverton but work in Hillsboro, you are eligible for either program. Forest Grove and its surroundings go with Hillsboro. For other areas, please ask.
http://www.hillsborocert.org/
http://www.beavertonoregon.gov/departments/emergency/cert/
Unfortunately both cities have just started new classes, but Hillsboro has only had the first session, you could probably still get in if you hurry. It’s a great way to be ready to help.
Volunteering is also a great way to make connections if you are considering going back to school. You can get a feel for something, along with experience, before committing to a full academic program. To search by area of interest and location, try http://www.volunteermatch.org/. Then, when you are ready to go back to school, see http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. Prospects for aid improve after you turn 23.
All you have to do is decide on an interest. Once that has been done the options are endless.
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