> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Picking right back up - URL: https://www.smdp.com/picking-right-back-up/ - Published: 2007-03-05T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T00:11:51.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import SANTA MONICA COLLEGE College isn’t just a stepping stone anymore. In the 22 years since 80-year-old Morton Klein retired from his practice as an gynecologist, he has taken a class at Santa Monica College and Los Angeles City College every year, alternating between the two schools every semester. The Beverly Hills resident doesn’t go to college with hopes of transferring to UCLA or USC as many students hope to do, or even in attaining an associate’s degree. Instead, it’s a way for Klein to learn things that he never had the opportunity to explore when he was a medical student at Washington University in St. Louis during the late 1940s. “It’s a way to dip into the subjects that I knew nothing about,”Klein said on Friday.“It’s a way of doing something that I could not do on my own.” The Korean War veteran is one of many retired students who make the decision to jump back into college life every year at Santa Monica College. “Staying engaged and active doesn’t mean just physical activity,” said Nicole Kaplan, vice president of programs and services at the Center for Healthy Aging in Santa Monica. “It can also mean mental activity.” Senior citizens who are interested in taking courses at the local college should follow through on their curiosity, Kaplan said. Taking a class not only provides a senior citizen with the opportunity to stimulate their mind,it provides a source of interaction with other people, which can be beneficial for the elderly who live by themselves. While doing a crossword puzzle or a game like Sudoku can be mentally stimulating, it lacks the social aspect that comes along with sitting in a class with 20 other students, she said. Assimilating into the digital world In a world where technology is rapidly changing every day, 71-year-old Jackie Goldman knew it would be important to at least learn computer basics if she wanted to begin working part-time again. The Santa Monica resident retired three years ago as an acting teacher and soon after decided to enroll in an introductory computer class for senior citizens at Emeritus College, an affiliate school of Santa Monica College that is intended for elderly students. “I like to be interested and connected,” Goldman said.“It makes me feel young and I’m able to make a contribution because the learning skills have given me the confidence to go out and seek work.” After she became comfortable using a computer, Goldman took the next step — she enrolled in a business course and a computer course covering the basics of Microsoft office products. Taking two courses proved to be challenging, especially at a time when Goldman was recovering from a health problem. She ended up dropping the business course, but successfully completed the computer class. Today, Goldman is working part-time as a receptionist in Santa Monica and is currently taking an online typing class through SMC. “I thought an online course would work well with my schedule,”Goldman said. The biggest challenge in going back to school was not the fear of how younger students would receive a senior citizen in their classes. It was convincing herself that she could go back to school regardless of what other people thought. Homework also never came easy as Goldman would often spend about three hours per assignment on top of the time she spent studying the course material. But, the types of challenges that senior citizens face in college is nothing compared to what younger students go through while attaining an education. “Young people today have tremendous pressure,” she said. “There are lots of competition and lots of demands from the standpoint of education to succeed.” Not ready to retire yet This spring, 60-year-old Jonell Kraus will wrap up an almost four-year stay at SMC when she graduates from the nursing program with students 40 years her junior. The graduation ceremony will mark the beginning of the second phase of her life – as a nurse in geriatrics. The Pacific Palisades resident had been retired for only a few months from a 25-year career working on the business side at Kaiser Permanente when she decided that she wanted to be involved in the medical world. After exploring different nursing programs, she settled on SMC. “When the time comes around, I can help my mom who is now 81,”she said.“I would like to be the one who takes care of her and not have somebody else do it.” When she went back to school it had been almost 17 years since Kraus had graduated from California State University,Fullerton with bachelor’s degrees in German and linguistics. She started taking prerequisite courses like anatomy, physiology and microbiology, taking one course at a time over a span of three semesters. Upon completing her third prerequisite, Kraus was told that it would take three semesters before she could begin the nursing program because of a long waiting list. Living off the income from the home she sold in Anaheim before moving to the Palisades,Kraus decided it was time to go back to work and landed a job supervising the central staff in the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. “I don’t think I could ever retire,”Kraus said. “My goal is to work at least for the next 10 years.” Good grades always came easy to Kraus when she was a student at Cal State Fullerton, graduating with high honors. In fact, Kraus received just two Bs during her entire stay at Fullerton and she didn’t react well to those scholastic miscues. It came as a surprise when she had difficulty understanding the material in the nursing program and now welcomes a B with open arms. “I don’t do as well as I did before but it’s not an age thing,”Kraus said.“I still have very good study habits, but I think the subject just seems harder for some reason.” “I think it’s my brain. My brain is just tuned into the humanities,”she added. There was never a fear that the students in the nursing program would not accept Kraus, but she understands that many senior citizens who attend class for the first time might feel like an outsider in a world filled with vastly younger students. Kraus sits at her desk every class and starts talking with her neighbors. She has become good friends with some of the students with whom she has taken classes with over the years. After graduation, Kraus plans to take the National Council Licenser Examination to receive the title of registered nurse. Where she goes after that is still a question mark. “I want to do something where I feel like I’m giving something back because I’ve been very fortunate all my life,” she said.“Just being born in this country and having the opportunity to go to school.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 5, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/030507.pdf?ref=smdp.com)