Mary Midgett, age 83, hasn’t stopped learning. She goes to Bernal Heights Senior Center a couple days a week learning digital skills on social media and other essential skills such as website publishing. She said, “Learning is a lifelong process and never stops. I need to keep up with new technology in order to get my new books published. That way I can make extra money even though I reached my retirement age.”
She is full of energy. One can hardly believe she’s in her 80s and continues to devote her life to learning new digital skills. “I like learning new things every day, especially when it comes to new technology,” said Mary. As a writer and journalist, “I need to learn new ways to promote my writings.”
Mary came to San Francisco in 1974 with her two young children. After settling into the City by the Bay and getting a job as a teacher at Booker T. Washington Center in the Western Addition, she jumped right into the action. She got involved with Operation Concern, counseling people with addictions, and co-launched Bay Area Black Lesbians and Gays and the NIA Collective, a retreat for lesbians of African descent. Mary retired from teaching full-time in 2007, but she continues to be an in-demand substitute teacher.
Currently, Mary is working on an inspirational book, Girlfriends, I’m 83 and Still Having Fun, focused on life after 60 and addressing issues like mental and physical health and employment. She is also facilitating and running workshops on healthy aging at the senior center. She is so happy that social media can make a difference in her life, not only to get in touch with her friends, family, and her community, but also to promote her writings through new technology.
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