Spring is a time of renewal across the world, and the season reminds us of our power to reinvent ourselves to embrace fresh opportunities. Within Phi Kappa Phi, that ideal is exemplified by our members who are or have been returning learners. Many of us have heard about returning learners – students who have gone back to the classroom after a long break in order to finish a degree or start work on a new one. A returning learner might be a stay-at-home mom whose children are grown and is seeking reentry into the workforce, a goal that requires additional education. When workers find that their longtime careers are ending or changing, they might also become returning learners as they go back to college to prepare for a job change. Sometimes, senior citizens well into retirement can go back to college for the sheer thrill of learning something new. These ambitious seniors are returning learners, too.

According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, more than one million people in their 40s are now in undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States. As the newspaper also pointed out, the prospect of increased longevity can be another big motivation for returning learners. When people expect to live longer, they’re more willing to invest the time and effort needed to return to school for additional education.

I have personal experience as a returning learner. Years after earning my doctorate in biomedical sciences from Wright State University, I was working in administration at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Then I enrolled as a student on campus and earned my MBA in 2015. I knew that learning about business administration would be helpful to me, and I’m so glad that I’ve been able to put that education to work in leading Phi Kappa Phi’s national office.

Phi Kappa Phi has been enriched and sustained by the contributions of many members with backgrounds as returning learners. Victoria Bond, a teacher for many years, decided to return to school as a graduate student at Wichita State University, where she was invited to join Phi Kappa Phi in 2002. Bond, who was 58 at the time, “feared there was a mistake, for I was not a traditional student,” she told us in 2006.

As Bond quickly learned, Phi Kappa Phi was ready to welcome her with open arms. We aim to embrace and celebrate ambitious scholars from all walks of life, regardless of where they are in life’s journey.

Victoria Bond, known as Vicki by her many friends, died in 2020, the same year her husband, L.D. Bond, passed away. Their estate planning included generous support for Phi Kappa Phi’s Fellowship program, ensuring that scholars for many years to come will be supported by the Bonds’ bequest.

Phi Kappa Phi’s returning learners are a powerful reminder that our Society has always stressed the power of lifelong learning among all of our members. In this year as in every year since our founding in 1897, we’re committed to advancing our motto: “Let the love of learning rule humanity.” I invite each of us to join our vision to make a better world driven by the love of learning!

Should you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about Phi Kappa Phi, please feel free to reach me at bnewcomer@phikappaphi.org.