Some grandparents are waving goodbye to their grandchildren as they head back to school.
But at 76, Linda Ebner is heading back to school herself, along with her husband, Scott, who is 75. Their school of choice is the University of Central Florida.
“When I walk around campus, I see kids that are young enough to be my grandkids,” Linda said.
Linda and Scott aren't working toward a degree. They’ve been auditing classes at UCF for 11 years, taking courses because they’re interested in learning.
They’re part of Florida’s senior citizen auditing program. Florida residents 60 and older who have lived in the state for at least a year can audit classes tuition-free, as space allows. They don’t receive grades or academic credit.
UCF has 794 students over age 50 enrolled this fall. Eighty-five of them are auditing classes and for Linda, going back to school is part of how she wants to spend retirement.
“I want to stay active,” she said. “There are so many things that I've always wanted to do. I have the opportunity to do them.”
Scott said returning to campus brings back memories of his own college years, which is also when he first met Linda.
“I was in a fraternity, she was in a sorority, we had a party in the Encino Hills in Los Angeles, and I invited her outside to see the S in the sky,” he said. “I gave her a smooch, and we've been married for 53 years.”
Scott graduated from UCLA in 1972 and Georgetown University in 1980. Now, almost 4 decades later he’s back in the classroom, still alongside Linda.
“We have kind of been together doing everything together for all our married life, like going to school together,” Linda said. “I was working at Georgetown, he was going to school, and then I worked at his office, so we've done this all together.”
Scott said now that he’s retired, he’s enjoying reliving his younger days on campus. He said some of his friends have retired and settled into doing the same things every day, and he didn’t want that for himself.
“I kind of feel bad for them because if they could experience what we're doing, I think they'd be a lot more interested in life, and I think they'd be happier,” he said.
There may be benefits to keeping that mind active, too.
A 2025 study in the National American Library of Medicine, more than 12,000 Americans aged 65 and older found people who participated in educational or training courses had higher cognitive-function scores than those who did not.
Another study published in the National American Library of Medicine found adults 60 and older who participated in adult education had about a 19% lower risk of developing dementia during the study period.
However, some teachers at UCF say it’s not just older students who get something out of returning to education.
Patricia Farless is a senior instructor in UCF’s Department of History, and teaches classes that include older adults alongside traditional college students.
She said older students aren’t just gaining something from the classroom, but bringing their experience and influence into the classroom with younger students.
“Having our seniors involved in these discussions, involved in this class material, I think is both rewarding for us because it adds so much to our conversation,” Farless said. “I got my love of history from my grandmother, telling stories of her life.”
That's why she said she believes having older adults in the classroom matters.
“I have this wonderful richness of history and humanities from my family, and so that has helped me in that connection, and then I come in here, and I'm always looking to have more of those stories,” she said.
And Linda said she doesn't want to imagine spending retirement sitting at home.
“If I was just sitting at home doing nothing, I wouldn't have all this input,” she said. “So I feel so lucky.”
“You could pick up a good book and have a wonderful time with it,” Scott said. “But coming here, being in person, walking around the campus, meeting students, meeting instructors, is a much more enriching experience than reading a book.”
