This week, as the Copiah-Lincoln Community College faculty and staff are welcoming back students from the holiday break and getting prepared for another rewarding semester, I would like to remind the community about the benefits of our Special Interest Classes program.

We hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with family and friends, but we are all too aware of just how exhausting the season can be. With 2016 kicking off, take the time to consider doing something for yourself. You may find that one of our non-credit special interest classes is just what you need to explore new or old passions and hobbies, or to build and enhance skills that could help you in your personal or professional lives.

There are varieties of special interest class opportunities this spring, as well as some old favorites.  In honor of the Natchez Tricentennial, Jim Wiggins will be teaching Slavery: From Natchez to the World (15 weeks) on Tuesday evenings, beginning tomorrow in the theater room of the Natchez Visitor Reception Center.

Fitness is a special highlight of the special interest classes schedule this spring.  Starting this week, I am excited to announce we will be offering Pilates: Foundation & Flow (9 weeks) on Thursday evenings. Jenna Aldridge has designed this course to address the mind/body connection and concepts behind Pilates, while also learning the conditioning routines that help build flexibility, strength, and endurance as well as long, lean muscles.

Other classes starting soon that will help you reach your New Year’s health resolutions are Beginner Tai Chi (10 weeks) starting on Jan. 19, which meets every Tuesday and Intermediate Tai Chi (10 weeks) starting on Jan. 21, which meets each Thursday.  Tai Chi helps you stay younger as you grow older, thus making an outstanding contribution to your overall health and well-being. I am also pleased to offer a tennis class (4 weeks) again this semester. There will be a session for each month from February through May. Sign up for one or all. Tennis is taught by a board certified USPTA elite professional at an unheard of low rate.

If you are looking to encourage your inner artist, you may want to sign up for intermediate drawing (6 weeks), starting on Feb. 4, and/or spring wreath making on Marth 8.

Yet another new class this semester is CSI: Natchez (4 weeks), starting on March 24. If you cannot get enough of your crime scene, investigative TV shows then this fun and hands-on class is for you.

For those of you looking to enhance or develop skills that will help you professionally, we have several classes to consider. Excel classes (2 weeks) will begin on Feb. 23rd. Let’s Write A Grant classes (4 weeks), which will begin on March 31, will give you the skills you need to understand the grant-writing process and to create a winning proposal.  Based on feedback from our previous grant-writing workshop, this class will dive a little deeper into the process, so it will be ideal for previous or new participants. Similarly, we listened to feedback from our previously popular PowerPoint workshop and will be offering Part 1 for PowerPoint presentation (2 weeks), starting on April 5, which will take a slower pace and plunge a little deeper into the details of making a flawless presentation.

Finally, as we do each spring, we will have a Benefits Available to Veterans class on Thursday, April 14. This class is offered at no cost. If you are a veteran, you deserve to understand and take full advantage of the benefits that are available to you. Let us help. If you have attended this workshop in the past, know that it could still be beneficial, as they will address any updates to policies.

All classes are offered at the lowest possible cost and are designed to be stress free. Our aim is to provide an avenue for life-long learners in our community striving toward new skills, hobbies or personal enrichment.

This program is created with you in mind so as always, I welcome any and all feedback.

Continuing education units (CEUs) are available for some classes. For more details on classes available, please visit our website, www.colin.edu, or contact Emily Edwards at 601-446-1103 or email emily.edwards@colin.edu.  You may also register at the Willie Mae Dunn Library on the Co-Lin Natchez campus and don’t forget to keep an eye on our Facebook page (Co-Lin N-Sights).

Pre-registration is required for all courses. All courses must meet a minimum number of participants to prevent cancellation and some courses have limited space available. If a class is cancelled for any reason, full refunds will be available.

On behalf of the Co-Lin family, I invite you to take full advantage of any classes in this program that would benefit or interest you.  Give yourself the gift of the life-long learning experience.

 

Nancy McFarland is the public information officer at the Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez campus.