Middlesex Community College to Host MILES Opening Session on March 23

Submitted by Middlesex Community College

Middlesex Community College will host local author Stephen O’Connor at the spring Opening Session of the Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Education for Seniors (MILES) at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in the Bedford Campus Center’s Café East, 591 Springs Road. The event is free and open to the public.

O’Connor is a native of Lowell, where much of his writing is set. He is the author of “Smokestack Lightning,” a collection of short stories, and the novels “The Spy in the City of Books,” and “The Witch at Rivermouth.”

His short stories have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, The Houston Literary Review,  Aethlon, Sobotka Literary Magazine, and elsewhere. His short story, “Work, Music and Love,” recently won the Helen Literary Award, while “St. Lucy’s Day” received honorable mention in a short story contest in the British journal, Open Road Review.

MCC’s MILES program offers stimulating, interactive daytime seminars and workshops – with no term papers, tests or grades – for active, older adults. This informational and entertaining Opening Session provides community members an opportunity to learn more about MILES and the courses being offered. The author event is a good opportunity to meet instructors and peers in the MILES program. Light refreshments will be served.

The spring session of MILES runs from March 27 through May 4 on the Bedford campus. The two-hour study groups meet from 2 to 4 p.m., in one-, two- or five-week sessions, and are facilitated by individuals with expertise in their field, including some MCC faculty and staff. The workshops and seminars focus on a variety of topics, including movies, nature, art, literature, technology, health and environmental issues, and history.

Each MILES course is $15 up to a maximum of $95. All MILES participants enjoy free use of the MCC Fitness Center and library. For the complete schedule of MILES courses, contact Lauren Ellis at 781-280-3669 or visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/MILES To register for MILES courses, call 1-800-818-3434.

Middlesex Community College is your pathway to success. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in the state, we educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners. MCC offers more than 70 degree and certificate programs, plus hundreds of noncredit courses, on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, as well as online. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!