New adult study abroad programs send Edenwald residents far beyond Towson.
Edenwald residents are a worldly bunch. Many have an innate desire to discover new ideas and experiences. Often, that itch is scratched through travel. As such, it should come as no surprise that in the summer of 2025, Edenwald and Goucher College will come together to offer Edenwald residents the opportunity to experience a customized version of the study abroad program that has become a hallmark of Goucher College.
This represents only one aspect of the lifelong learning experiences that will soon be available to Edenwald residents. As Edenwald deepens its relationship with Goucher College to become a college-enriched senior living community, residents will have the chance to audit courses, attend lectures, use the library, take in cultural performances, and more on the Goucher College campus.
We recently sat down with two of Edenwald’s world travelers, Jerriann and Don Wilson, to hear about their travels and get their thoughts on how the worlds of adult study abroad and intergenerational learning could intersect.
It began with a fortunate phone call.
It all started with a phone call in 1980. Jerriann Wilson was in Switzerland giving a presentation. She called her husband, Don, and suggested he hop on a jet and join her, and the two Edenwald residents have been trotting the globe ever since.
The trip to Switzerland was Don’s first time in Europe, so Jerriann thought they should visit London and Paris while they were there. London didn’t do much for Don. “It was December,” he says, “it was rainy and dreary.” Paris, however, was a different story.
The City of Lights was dazzling during their Christmastime visit, and Don was smitten. “Paris just captivated me to the point where I said, ‘We’ve got to come back,’” he says.
So, around 1990, the Wilsons started going to France on a regular basis. “We’d rent a car and travel all over France,” Don says.
As much as he enjoyed France, Don grew frustrated with his inability to communicate with the locals. He suggested a senior learning vacation, and Jerriann found the perfect place. In 2007, the couple enrolled at the Institute de Francais, located in a small town on the Riviera between Nice and Monaco.
“We went there for a month,” Don explains, “and the deal is you’re totally immersed during that experience. Well, we went back for a second year. And a third year. We ended up making six visits.”
“Learning the language really captivated our interest in France,” Jerriann says. These days, the Wilsons visit Paris every fall and the south of France every winter. “We’re not renting cars or going to school anymore,” Jerriann says. “We just go back to see the wonderful friends we’ve made there.”
Of course, Jerriann and Don’s travels are not confined to France. “We’ve been all through Italy, Germany and Norway,” Don says. “We have some friends in Finland from Goucher [Jerriann is a Goucher College alumna], so we visit them. And Canada! We’ve done a lot of travel in Canada.”
Discover senior travel programs and a culture that embraces them.
The Wilsons believe that the culture of Edenwald encourages educational travel for seniors, especially among the residents.
“There are people here in their nineties that are live wires and have traveled all over the world,” Don says, “and every time we’re packing our suitcase, they really get interested in us. And their point is, do it while you can. They say, ‘keep going, keep going.’ So, we get encouraged by the people here.”
Jerriann brings up a more practical aspect of traveling as an Edenwald resident. “You don’t have to make all the preparations you did while living at home. You don’t have to stop the mail or arrange for the trash to go out—those things are all taken care of. You just go.”
Edenwald is becoming a college-enriched senior living community.
While lifelong learning has always been a pillar of life at Edenwald, the Wilsons are especially excited about the community deepening its relationship with Goucher College to become a college-enriched senior living community.
Jerriann serves on Edenwald’s Shared Services Committee, which is currently brainstorming ways Edenwald residents and Goucher College students can enjoy beneficial interactions.
“I think that intergenerational knowledge is critical. I mean, it’s so important that different generations know how the other is thinking and feeling,” Jerriann says. “So, I hope that I’m going to be able to help find some things that are available at Edenwald that will be attractive to Goucher College students and vice versa. I think it’s really groundbreaking to be a part of this.”
Don echoes his wife’s sentiments. “We’re enthusiastic about the whole thing,” he says. “We just feel it’s going to be great.”
It’s an exciting time for adult study abroad.
The Wilsons are especially enthusiastic about being able to participate in the Goucher College study abroad program. The college, which is well-known for this program, is one of the first in the country to make completing a study abroad experience a requirement for graduation.
In the summer of 2025, Goucher College will adapt its study abroad program, The Scottish Connection, to accommodate a group of Edenwald residents.
In late July, a dozen or so Edenwald independent living residents will join approximately 30 Goucher College students for the second of their three weeks in Scotland. Together, they’ll explore Edinburgh in-depth during a vibrant and exciting time of year, festival season.
The itinerary is bursting with cultural and artistic experiences, including visits to Glamis and MacDuff castles (each serving as inspiration for “Macbeth”), Abbotsford House (home of Sir Walter Scott), Melrose Abbey, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Falkirk Kelpies, and more. They’ll enjoy a tour of the Scottish Highlands and take high tea at the Balmoral Hotel. They’ll attend the legendary Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and a performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
While the educational component of the experience is strong, there is no classroom, per se. “The country is our classroom,” Amanda Woodson, professor of dance and integrative arts at Goucher College, says. This will be the eighth trip she has developed and led to her native Scotland. “Experience is the thing that brings everyone together.” In Scotland, this can happen on a bus, in a pub, or at a ceilidh (a traditional Scottish dance and social gathering). As Professor Woodson says, “No classroom, but yes, classroom.”
The Scotland program is a pilot, according to Jennifer Quijano Sax, the Goucher College director of education abroad. “We’ll learn from this trip and see how we can meaningfully evolve future co-generational trips,” she says. “I’m very excited to see where this takes us.”
Learn more about educational travel for seniors at Edenwald.
Edenwald residents love to swap travel stories. It’s never too late to gather a few new ones of your own and join the fun. To learn more about the Edenwald-Goucher College partnership and your chance to enjoy an exceptional educational travel experience, contact an Edenwald residency counselor at 410-339-6263.
