Barbara and Tom Rider aren’t your traditional college sweethearts.
The Riders, both 65, are married and live in Niskayuna. They have two grown children, and both are retired.
But, every Tuesday and Thursday, the Riders have a night out. They don’t go to the movies, or out to dinner or to the bingo hall; they go to the classroom.
Twice a week, the couple attends an honors course titled The American Presidency at Schenectady County Community College as part of the college’s senior citizen auditors program, which allows county residents ages 60 and older to sign up for one tuition-free class each semester during late registration.
`We take whatever sounds fun,` said Barbara.
Both of the Riders attended college in their younger years and went on to lengthy careers with the state.
Tom was a personnel director for the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Barbara worked for the state Department of Health and Agriculture.
Now in their retirement, they are taking advantage of their community’s association with SCCC.
The Riders said their current class is enjoyable because of its relevance to current events and because it’s taught by one of their favorite professors, David Hennessy, associate professor and chair of the business and law department.
`He’s brilliant,` said Tom. `He’ll lecture for a whole class without any notes.`
Professor Hennessy has a fondness for the Riders as well.
`It’s nice to have someone closer to my age in the class,` said Hennessy, who noted that he’s had several seniors audit in his courses. `Sometimes the 1960s sound like ancient history to my students, but for me and Tom and Barbara, we were there.`
Hennessy said the Riders often stay after class and ask questions about the day’s lecture. He said the couple has a predilection for current events, a major topic of the course, which tracks the current presidential campaign and relates it to American history and political science.
Barbara Rider said that her enthusiasm for political news is a recent development.
`I had been ignorant about politics before taking this class,` she said. `Now I’m enlightened about what goes on behind the scenes, and I can form an opinion.`
As auditors, the Riders aren’t required to take tests, buy textbooks or do papers, but Tom said he’s been known to take a test anyway as a challenge.
`If the professor says the material for the test is what he’s gone over in class, I’ll take it,` said Tom. `And, I’ve done pretty well on most of them.`
The Riders said their curiosity has prodded them to take classes across several disciplines. Their transcripts show they’ve audited courses in law, criminal justice and anthropology.
There are 29 senior citizens auditing courses at SCCC this semester, a number the college hopes will continue to grow.
`At SCCC, we’re all about lifelong learning for students of all ages,` said college spokeswoman Heather Meaney. `We’re proud to offer auditing to seniors to continue that mission.`
The Riders said they’ve only just started their education. Though they’ll take the summer off for some vacation time, they hope to register for another course in the fall.
`We plan to keep taking classes. We really enjoy it.
Providing county residents with the senior audit program is a real benefit to living here,` Tom said. “