Why Lifelong Learning Is Central to Life at ECS

The landscape of senior living is changing. Today’s older adults won’t call just anywhere home. When they move, they want a community where connection, learning, and culture are a core part of the experience.

At ECS communities across Southern California, we’re built for exactly that. Our whole-person approach is designed to help residents live healthier, longer, and more fulfilling lives, supported by intentional pillars, from movement and nutrition to connection, cognitive health, and lifelong learning.

We call this holistic lifestyle Creative Living. To see how it works, we talked with Jackie Stevens, ECS Senior Director of Creative Living and Communications, who leads the program across The Canterbury, The Covington, and MonteCedro.

Bigger Than Any Jigsaw Puzzle

Body. Mind. Connection. Purpose. For Jackie, bringing these elements together through lifelong learning is “the backbone of the whole Creative Living program.”

The Creative Living Academy is where it all takes shape. If an activity carries a genuine learning component, it belongs. A lecture qualifies. So does an outing to a museum, or a musician who pauses between pieces to share the story behind the composer.

Sitting at a puzzle table? Maybe not. Many residents love spending a quiet afternoon working away on their own, and that focus has real value. The Academy, however, reaches for something more interactive. The goal of an Academy activity is to spark questions and ignite discussions that can carry into dinner with friends.

Take the conversational French class. It started with about 40 residents, which soon settled into a devoted core of around 15. Each of them probably hadn’t uttered a oui or bonjour since a long-ago trip or a college classroom. Today they listen to music together, read passages aloud, and have been known to order an entire meal in French. As Jackie puts it, they’ve “revisited a part of themselves that they forgot.”

And that’s the point. This is a stage of life with room to explore. Their children are grown. And there’s no work commute because the work is done. Residents finally have the time to learn the things they always meant to get around to.

“Creative Living is everything that makes life interesting as you age,” Jackie says.

Learning Is a Group Effort

Ask why the ECS approach works, and the one answer that always comes back is “other people.”

Learning in a group changes the whole experience. Residents try ideas out loud, laugh through their mistakes, and cheer each other on. Lisa Jimenez, Director of Creative Living at The Canterbury, sums it up nicely. A group lets residents “learn, succeed, and fail together.” Translation: It’s hard to be nervous when you’re surrounded by people in the same boat.

Lifelong learners can be leaders, too. At The Canterbury, one resident runs an evening program on musicals, concerts, and film, introducing neighbors to works they might never have found on their own. Another leads a lively hour of games and dance.

That same spirit runs through every ECS community. At MonteCedro, residents have delivered their own lectures, guiding neighbors through their travels to Tibet, Nepal, and beyond. Many have led full, fascinating lives, and someone who once sang opera or trotted the globe has plenty to share. The ECS perspective? Hand them a microphone.

Even the lighter moments are designed with intention. A themed happy hour or Tuesday Tasting stirs up old memories. It may have been years since a resident last had a “Harvey Wallbanger.” But that first sip can bring back the memory of where they were and what they were doing.

When “I Can’t” Becomes “I Can”

The biggest obstacle to participation is usually the word “can’t.”

Jackie sees it constantly. A resident hears about a lecture on astronomy and hesitates, hovering half in and out of the doorway. Then the team welcomes them in. More often than not something clicks. They sit. They listen. They leave knowing more about the cosmos, and a little surprised at themselves.

A longtime resident once paid the community a compliment Jackie treasures most, calling it a place filled with “the youngest old people” he had ever met. It all comes down to how you see yourself. Time and again, ECS residents put a positive spin on an old adage. Believe you can, and you will.

What’s Ahead

“We don’t let them stop learning,” Lisa says.

At The Canterbury, residents learn from Omnilore, a lifelong-learning group whose retired professors and instructors lead lectures throughout the year. A partnership with local high school musicians brings monthly concerts to the community, giving young performers a stage and residents a wonderful show. On-site health sessions, offered through a partner organization, help residents manage everyday concerns like arthritis or heart health without leaving home. New collaborations with nearby colleges are already in the works.

At MonteCedro, the list of partners runs the gamut, from chamber musicians to an upcoming lecture from the Huntington on the roots of trees. The throughline is quality. If the event is held at ECS, you know the speaker or performer is worth showing up for.

Curiosity doesn’t move into retirement when we do. With the right invitation, it actually grows. That is the quiet magic of Creative Living at ECS. A seat is always waiting, and the door is always open. Residents are always encouraged to walk through it and discover something new.