SIERRA VISTA — As much as Sharon Gilman enjoyed the drive to Benson every day for the past three years, it didn’t take long to adjust to a much shorter commute to work.

Gilman, who lives in Sierra Vista, was hired as the new director for the Cochise College Center for Lifelong Learning over the summer. That meant leaving her post as the director of the college’s Benson Center, where she was not only a strong presence within the campus walls, but also within the community.

Sharon Gilman in front of the CLL office on the Sierra Vista Campus.

“Even though I didn’t live there, I worked with the Arts Council, the Rotary and the Chamber, and I think we raised the level of involvement in the Benson community,” Gilman said.

Then she chuckled. “People were surprised to find out I didn’t actually live in Benson, but that was my job, and I think we raised awareness that we existed up on the hill.”

Gilman’s time at the Benson Center wasn’t up right away when her job title switched. While learning the ropes in her new position, she was also still spending quite a bit of time at her old stomping grounds, helping out with student registration and other stresses that come with a new school year as the college looked for a new Benson director. Barbara Richardson was approved as the new director by the governing board earlier this week at its September meeting.

Gilman said what’s helped the early part of her transition to leading the Center for Lifelong Learning is the solid work done by past director Rebecca Orozco, who is still with the college as a full-time history/political science instructor.

“When I saw the position open, I was surprised because Becky is so linked with the program that I couldn’t imagine her leaving,” Gilman said. “Becky laid a good foundation. I don’t have to create templates from scratch or reinvent the wheel.”

CLL started in its current state about four years ago with Orozco the director of a program that combined the old Workforce Training and Community Education department with the Center for Southwest Studies. Even in the years before that, Orozco said, the college made an effort to to engage the community through development courses and other training opportunities. Program and department titles have shifted, but the general idea has remained firmly in place.

“Cochise College has always had a program for community education and workforce training,” Orozco said. “I am very proud of the fact we went from a very small department with only a few programs, grew by 30 percent per year and now have more than 300 programs per year.”

CLL’s catch phrase is “Learning Without Borders,” with “borders” defined in a variety of ways, including distance, skill or the state of the economy. The program offers non-traditional classes — in art, cooking, computers and others — at each of the Cochise College campuses that are catered for people who want to learn a new skill in a short time.

The CLL also places a focus on Southern Arizona’s history, culture and geography, which students and members of the community have opportunities to learn about through its classes, as well as the Lunch Lecture Series in Douglas, Sierra Vista and Benson, offered throughout each semester on a variety of topics.

“Hobbies, lifelong learning, it’s good to keep interested in the world. It keeps you young, your brain active and engaged,” Gilman said. “This (job) also allows for more flexibility. If someone has an idea for a class, we can probably just do it.”

Gilman holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s in public administration. She traveled and moved several times with her husband while he was in the Army, and the pair settled near Fort Huachuca when he started working for General Dynamics.

Gilman said one of her goals is to give the CLL a bigger presence within the extended campus centers. And even though she said she will miss how relaxed things often were at the Benson Center, she’s excited to get a little more creative at work, and be able to work with and get to know the community where she’s actually resided for the past three years.

For information about signing up for a class or receiving our schedule of classes or signing up for the email newsletter, call the Center for Lifelong Learning at 515-5492, email training@cochise.edu or visit www.cochise.edu/cll.