Opportunities for Idaho adult learners are continuing to grow

Bob Kustra
Opinion | Idaho Statesman | April 5, 2026 4:00 AM

I was reminded recently of that adage often quoted by those who lament missed learning opportunities — “education is wasted on the young” — when I heard about a new opportunity thanks to the innovative spirit of Boise State English professor, Samantha Harvey, who is creating a “return to the college campus experience” for adult learners. It’s called Perennial College at NMH, and it makes up for what adult learners might have missed the first time around in their college days. 

“I love teaching lifelong learners,” Harvey said. “They’re intellectually curious, eager, and fun. If you’re an educator, that’s your dream.”

How many times have I heard folks think back to their younger learning years and wish they could replay those times and take a few courses they missed? In retrospect, it’s so easy to imagine how that undergraduate experience could have gone and how we might still fill in the gaps in our learning. Some simply read their way through life and teach themselves what they missed. Some have the flexibility to return to campus and earn another degree, this time one which satisfies a passion for learning or a requirement for a new and different career. 

Still others find their way to the programming offered at the Osher Institute for Lifetime Learning at Boise State University. Experts from various fields, often professors at Boise State and other universities and colleges, lecture adult learners across a range of academic disciples. Thanks to the philanthropy of Bernard Osher, adult learning centers named for him can be found across the country and it is intellectual engagement of the highest order to spend a few hours a year listening to lecturers who bring their expertise to the classroom. 

For those who want to relive those college years or even for those who missed college and yearn for just a piece of the campus experience, Perennial College at NMH is the answer. 

Imagine living on campus for eight days, attending classes and learning from faculty who are there only for the adult learner. Such a deal! No admission requirements and no need for a legacy reference. No tests or exams of any kind. Just a desire to learn like college students on a beautiful campus from some very talented faculty. 

Inspired by the Osher Institute, Perennial College at NMH is offering its upcoming summer program on an idyllic New England campus in Gill, Massachusetts, the home of Northfield Mount Herman School (NMH). 

The dates for this summer’s campus experience are June 19 to 27. Learners will participate in a two-course program, American Transcendentalism, with Professor Harvey, and The American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence: 250 Years Later, with Dr. David Adler who is also a fan favorite at the Osher Institute. 

Learners will spend their mornings in two classes and on some afternoons, they will leave campus for outings that will bring what they learned in class discussions to life. One day they will be in Concord, Massachusetts, site of the beginning of the Revolutionary War, to visit the houses of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. On another day, they will explore Fruitlands, a Transcendentalist utopian community in Harvard, Massachusetts, and site of the Fruitlands Art Museum. 

Other off-campus outings include a wine-tasting, movie night, ice cream stands and brewery visits, nature walks, and other local delights. 

It’s the testimonials from participants from last summer’s Perennial College at NMH that tell the story of a remarkable educational experience. 

“There’s just something about the total campus experience, you know?” said student Patty Nakaoki, a Boise resident who worked in information technology for most of her professional career. “Sitting in lecture halls, going to a central place to get your meals, even sleeping on a funky dorm mattress — there’s something special about that.” 

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m so happy I came,” added John Howell, a retiree who holds a doctoral degree in inorganic chemistry from Drexel University and studied community and organization development at Loyola University. “Northfield Mount Hermon is a beautiful campus, the people are fantastic, and our course leaders are amazing. I’ve learned so much I don’t even know where to begin. When we do this again, I’m going to be here.” 

With recommendations like that, it’s no wonder that Samantha Harvey sees Perennial College as a growth opportunity in adult learning. 

“I really think this could become a new model for intergenerational education”, Harvey said. ”We have this extraordinary school with a mission rooted in community building. It’s exciting to extend that to another group of students”. 

We live at a time when we are bombarded daily with news and commentary from various media streams, including social media that has played a devastating role in dividing us and making it so difficult to reach across disagreement and find common ground. But here’s an opportunity to slow down the pace and learn and reflect on how Americans first set out to define and defend America as an independent nation and then to learn from those in the early days of the republic who transcended their material world and sought haven in a spiritual world that respected nature and encouraged the full potential of the individual. 

Those interested in learning more about Perennial College at NMH can contact Professor Samantha Harvey at samanthaharvey@boisestate.edu. 

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Bob Kustra served as president of Boise State University from 2003 to 2018. He is host of Readers Corner on Boise State Public Radio, a regular columnist for the Idaho Statesman and a contributing columnist for the Chicago Tribune. He served two terms as Illinois lieutenant governor and 10 years as a state legislator.