Lenore Beitel arrived at TMI with impressive credentials. She held a PhD in Biochemistry from McGill, and had a professional career in molecular biology and genetics. In her final working years, she was contributing to neuroscience research at the Montreal Neurological Institute.
However, she had always been curious about other subjects as well, and wanted to know more about the world. Her studies had left her little time for non-science subjects, but even as a student she had felt that something was missing, so after completing her BSc, she travelled around Europe for three months, visiting churches, museums and historic sites. Once she started working, she continued to love travel, visiting places as diverse as Peru, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.
It was a natural step for a woman who had always shown such curiosity in her life to sign up for a course in Basic Essay Writing at TMI. After the Essay course she chose one on Leonardo da Vinci. “Leonardo da Vinci is my inspiration,” she says. “Renaissance man, scientist and artist, and left-handed (like me).” Unfortunately, that course was interrupted by the Covid pandemic, but Lenore was hooked.
“I always liked school,” she tells me, “and I like the reward of getting a flat hat!” she adds, with a laugh. She decided to apply for a B.A. degree, because she felt that the additional effort involved would be more rewarding. “You learn so much more, going over the material, synthesizing it, and writing about it,” she explains.
Her courses to date have ranged from The Bronze Age to Reading Machiavelli, Ancient Chinese Philosophy and A Stitch in Time: The History and Practice of Textile Arts. Her quiet, thoughtful enthusiasm as she talks about the courses is palpable. She has strong praise for many of her discussion leaders, and for the books and readings chosen. She especially liked the way the textiles course included a visit to the Visual Arts Centre in Westmount, to learn about weaving in a practical way.
However, some aspects of the TMI learning method were a bit of an adjustment for Lenore. “I had no trouble with the reading, as I’ve always liked to read,” she says. “But it took me a while to get used to expressing an opinion in the discussions. I’m more of an introvert.” Essay writing was another challenge. In the sciences her papers were based on research, experiments and results, with a focus on the results. She had more flexible deadlines and often worked with contributions from several people.
“Writing in the humanities is more opinion-based, and you need to develop a thesis statement,” she says. She found it challenging to link together a large variety of readings, and to meet fixed deadlines. Lenore now sets herself goals of writing a certain number of words per day, and she has become more comfortable summarizing specific points from the readings. She has also learned not to take too many courses with overlapping deadlines at the same time.
After a rewarding career in the sciences, Lenore is thoroughly enjoying her new venture in the Liberal Arts world, bringing her into contact with other lifelong learners. “I like the chance to get together with other people who want to learn. I have met people who felt they were missing something, and studying the humanities filled a gap,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting the range of viewpoints,” she adds. “There are people in the classes from many different backgrounds, so we hear many different viewpoints.”
She has some final advice for anybody who, like herself, might be interested in pursuing a B.A. at TMI, even if they already have an advanced degree in another field. “Be curious. Be open. Share what you think. Listen to other people. Develop your writing skills.” Lenore will graduate in about six more years. After that? “I’ll probably be back for different classes,” she says with a smile. “And I’d be happy to mentor any new degree students.”
– Pauline Beauchamp
Pauline, together with colleague Karen Nesbitt, offered a very successful series of writing workshops at TMI in the 2010s.
Interested in TMI’s degree program? You can learn more here, or make an appointment with Joseph Vietri, Manager of Academic Affairs and Operations.