Harvey Schoenman believes in the value of staying in touch with family and friends. He makes this value tangible through a variety of activities including organizing hiking meetup groups and teaching Oasis Connections classes at Community Library of Castle Shannon in metropolitan Pittsburgh.

“I’ve had a good number of students who came to class believing that they probably wouldn’t succeed at using today’s technology,” Harvey says. “I make sure that everyone feels welcome in class by asking their name and what they would like to learn from the class. Then I explain how these courses are designed just for them so they can relax, ask questions as necessary and have fun!”

Harvey’s career in the technology field taught him that no matter how good he was or how much he knew there were people who knew much more.

“Once I accepted that, I was satisfied with the way I can help a lot of people even though I can’t be all things to all people,” he says.

For instance, his knowledge allowed him to create the ‘Ginny blog’ when his wife experienced a health crisis and their family and friends wanted up-to-date information about the situation and how to help.

Also, since April 2012, Harvey has taught more than 80 classes serving over 260 people. He finds that the vast majority of his students are taking a class in order to stay in closer touch with someone.

“I begin every class by asking the students if they have loved ones, particularly children and grandchildren, living in other states. I explain that personal letters and even phone calls are not the channels Millennials or even those in Generation Y prefer to use,” he adds.

When he’s not teaching technology classes he is busy with a variety of in-person activities with family and friends.  Harvey enjoys time with his wife, Ginny, his daughter and son and his two grandchildren. He also has a broad social network including hiking friends, colleagues at the Pittsburgh Mobile Technology Club and the Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP.) Harvey serves as an officer for his American Legion post.

“I like to be busy and am interested in a variety of pursuits. I do my best when I meter out my time among them. That is the best advice I can share—make sure that you make time for the things in life that are of interest to you.”