Back by student request, this popular series will again explore six of the many industries & services based in our local economy. The following guests from the listed industries will speak and answer questions:

Week   Presenter       Company

10-Oct Mike Nelson    Dakota Creek, owner

17-Oct Justin Rawls    T. Bailey, Vice President

24-Oct Don McMoran  Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension
                                Educator and WSU Skagit County Extension
                                Director

31-Oct Bill Harris       Fire Chief, Anacortes

 7-Nov  John Roozen  WA Bulb

14-Nov Matt Miller     Mayor of Anacortes

Facilitator: Tom Kuhn (past president of Anacortes Senior College)

Writing about your life can seem like a daunting task. Where to begin? This class will prime the pump, with weekly writing assignments (about 750 words) presented in themes, plus writing tips. Sharing your stories confidentially with others in class will inspire you even more. You'll come to see your life through a different lens and leave a legacy for your family.

(Class size is limited to 10 students.)

Instructor: Teru Lundsten

Teru has been teaching memoir writing in Skagit County since 2010. She worked as a personal historian, helping people preserve their life stories into books for their families. As a journalist she wrote over 200 profiles of people of all ages and from around the world. She has completed a memoir of her early years.

The U.S. health system has been described as “broken” and “the best in the world.” How well has it responded to the Covid crisis, and what can we learn from this experience? In this three-session course, we will discuss the structure of the U.S. health system and how it operates, and explore – together – its strengths and weaknesses as revealed by the pandemic.

Instructor: Aaron Katz

Aaron Katz is Principal Lecturer Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Public Health where he taught graduate level courses in health policy and conducted health policy projects and research on a wide variety of issues. During his 32 years at UW, Aaron held numerous academic leadership positions and has received many awards, including the American Public Health Association’s Award for Excellence in 2006 and the Outstanding Teaching Award from the UW School of Public Health in 2004. Aaron and his artist wife, Kate Dougherty, moved to Anacortes in April 2019 after living in Seattle for more than 40 years. They enjoy hiking, biking, pickleball, eating in the area’s great restaurants, listening to music, dancing, and traveling.

• This 3-week course will provide information about the strong, creative and successful first people into North America. They are the ancestors of all the North American tribes. The new archeological discoveries will be presented including those here in the Northwest. It will also cover what science says about the new genetic DNA data. The class will include:
• Who were the first people?
• When did they come?
• Where did they come from?
• How did they get here?
• What did they find?
• How do we know any of this?
• The Kennewick man controversy.

Instructor: Jim Barrett EdD

Jim has a doctorate degree in Adult Education and Communication. He was employed at the University of Washington for 32 years. He regularly teaches at the Anacortes Senior College and at the Shelter Bay Communiversty.

Medical Humanities addresses human experience, impact on families, relationships with medical community, bioethics in medicine and medical technology as a double-edged sword.

Please, bring with you a notepad, pen or a laptop. The class explores deep philosophical topics and representation of health and illness in the arts and literature as well. It also has multiple interdisciplinary connections with medical anthropology and the history of medicine. This field of study is new and exciting!

Instructor: Lana Hickman

Lana Hickman holds a UW Certificate in Clinical Research. She has a long-standing interest in the lives of her generation and challenges everybody is facing. Themes of life, health and illness are inescapable.