Prudence retired from nursing to work in healthcare administration. A New York native, she now lives in Colorado with her wife and believes that learning is a lifelong process. She remains eager to explore and discover new things. She was thrilled when her health plan, Kaiser Permanente, offered its members GetSetUp classes through its SilverSneakers program. Through GetSetUp, Prudence has found a world of learning at home that allows her to continue exploring her interests and learning new skills.

"I find it relaxing. Since I still work, sometimes I tune in to listen and just learn something that I may not have known or knew a little about."

Learning with Kaiser and GetSetUp

"Kaiser offers just great benefits," Prudence shared. "I learned about GetSetUp through an email Kaiser sent. Their emails are specifically targeted to benefits that interest me."

Prudence has taken numerous GetSetUp classes that have piqued her interest, from the Blue Zones to how to do verbal memos and letters on Google. As the President of a volunteer group, she found the skills she learned in the Google class particularly useful.

"I was going to use voice memos to text notes because I'm President of a volunteer group, but we had a great notetaker, so I didn't need to. However, it was great to know I could have used it." Prudence shared.

The first class Prudence took was on a cauliflower recipe.

"We made the recipe at home, which was great because in Colorado, there are few vegetable options in the winter. It turned out beautifully.  We would have spiced it up a bit, for our personal tastes, so we did that the next time we made it!"

A number of the recipe classes were associated with Blue Zone themes which Prudence found particularly interesting.

"The way the classes were presented was very good. I felt that I could glance at their recipes, and classes made it seem like an ongoing relationship. There is no rush to test the recipes right then."

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A World of Learning at Home

Prudence's interests are wide-ranging, from travel to history to cooking. With GetSetUp, she has found a world of learning at home that caters to her varied interests.

“The Guide who taught the travel class kept the conversation open. That was really helpful because some people of a certain age are very hesitant to take on something new in terms of travel. Open discussion allows people to share experiences. The instructor was asking about the foreign exchange program, and we have had students from France and Spain. We were used to having exchange students so we could share our experience.”

She found it interesting to hear the perspective of people who had yet to have much opportunity to travel. Their main fear was that the exchange students would steal something from their homes. Her family's experience had found that most of the students paid a good deal of money to come on the program and were not interested in that.

Another interesting class for Prudence was the history class about the black death. As a nurse by background, she found the class particularly impactful.

"He was an excellent British teacher. He pointed out that back then, people didn't believe the medical professionals. They didn't want to follow the recommendations of the health professionals at the time. And when he allowed discussion afterward, I said that time sounded just like today," she shared.

Prudence also enjoyed a podcast class, which taught her a lot about a future project she is considering.

"I'd like to do a podcast in the future, but I think in the winter. I'll probably repeat what the class did since it had lots of important information and links." she shared.

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The Power of Community and Tech Support

For Prudence, one of the most significant benefits of using GetSetUp is the sense of community it provides. She enjoys interacting with other learners and learning from their experiences.

"For people who are retired and don’t know what to do or they don’t know how to think outside the work environment, GetSetUp gives them an opportunity to explore something that maybe they didn't have any experience with before. And for people who don't want to travel or don't have the capacity monetarily, they can still learn to explore.”

She felt that GetSetUp offers an ongoing relationship with its learners, and there is no rush to complete the courses.

"Sometimes people who are retired are either on the computer looking at politics, which is a total waste of time you can’t influence them, or they are sitting in front of a TV. Being engaged in a class and learning keeps you stimulated and gives you another way of looking at life."

The platform offers an opportunity for learners to explore something new and experience it virtually, particularly for those who may not have the capacity to travel physically or monetarily.

"You see people outside of yourself. I liked that aspect."

Prudence also appreciates the quality tech support GetSetUp offers to learners who are struggling with technology. She hasn't personally struggled since she uses it all the time, but she said,

“I don't have to hear other people’s problems. That drives me crazy normally. Tech support helps them individually.  That is really helpful so the person presenting doesn't have to deal with people who can’t get their sound on. It's a more positive experience for the other learners who already have tech abilities.”

Overall, Prudence's experience with GetSetUp has been positive, and she has recommended the platform to others. While she stays very active and busy, she likes to know there are options for her to take advantage of from home when they fit into her schedule.

“GetSetUp helps you be your authentic self.”