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UNLV Continuing Education is providing this blog to share views on select continuing education courses and discussion on related topics.


Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Give the Gift of Learning this Season

The holidays bring out our generosity as we seek to find the perfect gift for our families and friends. There is always a point during the season, for me at least, when I am stumped on what to get for the person on my list who has everything.

Rather than buy one more item to clutter an already overflowing closet, how about giving an experience? That could mean movie tickets, dinner out, a spa day, or, because this is UNLV Continuing Education after all, how about a class? CE’s new Spring 2015 course catalog is packed full with classes to take just for fun that will appeal to a broad range of people on your list.

My parameters for this list were as follows. The class had to start in January or February so the recipient wouldn’t have long to wait. The price point had to be under $150 (except for the one where you get to take the controls of a plane or helicopter—totally worth a little budget busting!). The class had to look either very useful or very fun. It wasn’t possible for me to include everything that looked awesome, so no more than one class per section of the catalog; I cheated by adding a runner up in the music category because self-imposed rules were made to be broken.

New Drivers: Car Care 101 (begins Feb. 11, $39)
Stop car trouble before it starts by doing your own preventative maintenance. At the very least, they will appear marginally intelligent when they have to talk to the repair technician!

Thrill-Seeker: Introductory Airplane or Helicopter Flight (Scheduled at your convenience, $169)
I’m intrigued by this one. After a one-on-one ground school briefing, the student will take the controls of a Cessna 172 airplane or Robinson R22 helicopter while flying high above Las Vegas. This is a special offer through the host of our new Private Pilot Certification program.

Pet Lover: Pet First Aid & CPR (begins Feb. 26, $89)
The thought of mouth-to-mouth with a dog is gross, but I’d do it if it were a matter of life or death. More likely, pet-parents ought to know what to do when their furry friend slices a paw on a knife while stealing food from the counter.

Shutterbug: Cell Phone Photography (begins Feb. 28, $59)
Instagram can rescue many-a marginal photo, but imagine the time you could save by getting the right shot in the first place.

Budding Artist: Paint Like the Old World Masters (Jan. 24, $149)
Paint Like the Old World Masters is my top choice to gift to an artist because it offers something for both novice and proficient artists. Your artist friends may have read about camera obscura and underpainting, but have they ever tried it? There are so many other amazing choices among our art offerings—acrylics, collage, silk painting, and watercolors also begin in January or February.

Music Lover: Beginning Guitar (begins Feb. 3, $99) 
Runner up: Blowin' the Blues Harmonica (begins Jan. 21, $139)
Wouldn’t it be cool to have someone who could play the guitar or harmonica around the campfire next summer? If someone gave this gift to me, I’d know it was because they would rather hear me play than sing.

Drinking Buddy: Home Brew Workshop (Feb. 19, $69)
If you gift this class to a friend and he or she gets really good at crafting home brews, guess who will probably get invited to come over for taste tests?

Gift certificates for Continuing Education classes are available in any denomination. Call 702-895-3394 or stop by the Paradise campus office to inquire.

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