Life Doesn't End With Retirement: Former Teacher Shares Her Senior University Experience
Former Latvian language teacher Lilija Zēberga talks about staying active after retirement through a senior university and an advisory council in Jēkabpils municipality. Several senior schools across Latvia begin a new academic year in early October.
In early October, several senior schools across Latvia will begin a new academic year under a program supported by the Ministry of Welfare. Among the participants is Lilija Zēberga, a longtime teacher of Latvian language and literature, who describes a difficult adjustment after retirement — an initial sense of freedom followed by growing isolation as daily contact with former colleagues faded away.
Her life changed with the arrival of a Senior University in Jēkabpils and her involvement with the Vidusdaugava NGO center. The range of courses proved broad, from exercise and visual arts to a faculty led by journalist Sarmīte Plūme focused on building personal archives and recording memories. The program also included practical activities such as museum visits and meetings with local Old Believers. For the new academic year, Zēberga has signed up for a course on travel and intercultural experience.
Learning as a Source of Vitality
Zēberga stresses that continued learning helps maintain memory and cognitive function while reducing the risk of passivity or social withdrawal. She has also begun leading activities herself — in September she organized poetry readings at a senior day center and volunteered teaching Latvian to Ukrainian refugees.
Beyond educational activities, Zēberga serves on the Senior Advisory Council of Jēkabpils municipality, where 15 representatives address issues relevant to older residents, from access to waste-sorting containers to preserving healthcare services in rural areas. She argues that state-level support for seniors should be planned well before people reach retirement age.
Zēberga also notes the low participation of men in senior activities and expresses hope that younger generations will maintain their ties to Latvia. In recent years, her community involvement has brought her a wider circle of acquaintances than ever before in her life.
