Fall — 2004

Sylvia (Goldman) Zalk

SMC Student in 1936,
Current Emeritus College Volunteer

“I graduated from Santa Monica High School in 1936 and then went ‘across the street’ to college for a while. Now I’m 85, and I’m still at the College.”

Her career at SMC was a brief one. But her life—and the life of the College—have certainly intertwined in interesting fashion. “It’s a funny story, really,” says Sylvia Zalk with a laugh. “There was an earthquake in 1933, and we went to school in tents. But then there was a two-story building that didn’t have room for the sixth grade class, so I went to school at Madison. And then,” she adds dryly, “about a million years later, I found myself taking a computer class in the same school! It was through SMC’s Emeritus College, but I remember it so well because we studied hieroglyphics. I’d just fallen in love with the whole Egyptian thing, and then—all those years later—here I was back in the exact same classroom!”

A self-proclaimed ‘political junkie,’ Sylvia reports, “I’ve been taking a political science class at Emeritus for the past eight years, and I work there as a volunteer every Wednesday. I adore our new building, and I loved the transition to our new permanent home. I mean, the building is a work of art, and the whole program is just fabulous. It’s a wonderful thing that SMC is doing through Emeritus, because it’s necessary for older people to continue to learn and make physical use of their bodies and minds.”

Now, with a great-granddaughter age 10, Sylvia looks back on a past covering all of the great events of the 20th century. Two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, Watergate, the decline of civility, the revolution in technology. And whatever is the current state of chaos existing in the world today, Sylvia keeps a sharp eye out for the ‘tell-tales’ of political change. “I’ve been in the peace movement for a very long time, and I think it’s very important for older Americans to keep their minds and bodies in good shape these days. In times of uncertainty, it pays for all of us to be attentive.”

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