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When OLLI member Gabi Darch retired from a long, fulfilling nursing career, she had not anticipated what the transition would be like. After decades of caring for others as a women’s health nurse practitioner, educator, and advocate, she looked forward to slowing down. But almost immediately, she felt something missing.
“I floundered that first year,” Gabi said. “I’d been so used to having purpose and structure. My work had been meaningful and full of people I cared about. Suddenly that was gone, and I had to figure out who I was again.”
That search for identity after years of professional purpose is one many retirees face. It eventually led Gabi to OLLI at Auburn. Her friend Janet Deutsch had retired a few years ahead of Gabi and had joined OLLI. “I thought, ‘That’s something I want to do when I retire.’ … I joined in 2015. I’ve been part of OLLI ever since.”
Gabi’s professional life had centered on care, education, and advocacy for women’s health. After earning her master’s degree in maternal-infant nursing and certification as a nurse practitioner, she worked in maternity care for the Alabama Department of Public Health.
“I loved that job,” she says. “We had this little trailer near the old Pepperell School; it was our domain. The team was wonderful, and we all cared so much about our patients. We saw women who really needed access to good care, and we tried to meet them where they were.”
That job led to a statewide position as a Nurse Practitioner Consultant, traveling across Alabama to support other nurses and help shape clinical protocols. “I worked with so many compassionate, dedicated people in rural counties—nurses doing incredible work with limited resources,” she recalls. “It was meaningful work.”
By the time she retired in 2014, Gabi had devoted more than three decades to public health and education. “I felt proud of what I’d done,” she says, “but I also felt this emptiness. My career had been such a big part of who I was.”
Joining OLLI helped fill that space. “It gave me connection, learning, and purpose,” Gabi says. “I’ve always loved school. I was one of those nerdy kids who liked research papers, and OLLI brings that same spark back.”
She’s taken classes in writing, art, and history, and especially enjoys Terry Ley’s Writing Our Lives. “That class has been so meaningful,” she says. “It’s helped me reflect on my life and experiences in ways I never had time to before.”
Beyond the classroom, OLLI has also offered community. During the pandemic, Gabi and several OLLI friends Rebecca Kelly, Mary Ann Hanson, and Ann Beale began meeting for morning walks. “That little group became a lifeline,” she says. “It reminded me how much we all need each other.”
Gabi appreciates opportunities to go on field trips with OLLI friends. She mentions the trips to Atlanta’s High Museum and to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery this year as especially fun and interesting. She also plays Mah Jongg weekly with fellow members. “It’s not political, not heavy—it’s just fun. People talk about their families, their travels, their lives. It’s refreshing. I feel at home here.”
That sense of belonging inspired Gabi to make a gift supporting OLLI’s future building. She and her husband, Craig, who is Professor Emeritus of Education at Auburn have long supported causes that matter to them, including a scholarship in special education, their church and synagogue, and now OLLI.
“OLLI has given me so much—it just felt right to give back,” she says. “Now that we’re at the stage of doing qualified charitable distributions, I want my money to go where I believe it makes a difference. For me, that’s OLLI.”
She’s enthusiastic about the vision of a permanent home for OLLI. “Having a physical space creates continuity and presence,” she explains. “It shows that OLLI is part of the university community. When we had a hub before at the Clarion, it made a difference. A building gives us a sense of belonging.”
Gabi says OLLI has helped her see retirement as a new opportunity to discover herself.
“When you’ve worked your whole life, your identity gets wrapped up in what you do. And then suddenly, you’re not that anymore,” she says. “OLLI helped me find myself. It gave me room to explore new things, to learn, to connect. It reminded me that I’m still curious, still growing.”
For Gabi, lifelong learning isn’t just about taking classes; it’s about staying connected. “OLLI has been affirming,” she says. “It’s reminded me that purpose doesn’t end when you retire—it just changes.”
