THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2026 63 CURIOSITY NEVER RETIRES Why Lifelong Learning Should Be in Your Future RETIREMENT SUPPLEMENT Elizabeth “Liz” W. Shelton retired from the State Department in 2005 after nearly 30 years as a Foreign Service officer. She served in Thailand, Malaysia, Nigeria, Türkiye (Istanbul and Adana), Azerbaijan, and Albania. She holds a BA in history from the University of Michigan, an MA in international development from American University, an MS in national security strategy from the National War College, and a doctorate in liberal studies from Georgetown University. She currently spends part of the year in Washington, D.C., and part in Kalkan, Türkiye. Retired FSOs John Bargeron and Xenia Wilkinson also contributed to this article. Do you think all the experiences and knowledge acquired during years of living abroad and serving your country are for naught when you retire? Think again! Sure, you can play golf, swim with sharks, perfect an English rose garden, or walk the Appalachian Trail, if you want to. But don’t ignore the fact that retired FSOs have had opportunities that most can only dream about. Why not share that knowledge and impart your insights in Continuing education courses offer Foreign Service alumni the opportunity to learn, teach, and make new friends in retirement. BY ELIZABETH “LIZ” SHELTON a lifelong learning community, exploring educational opportunities with new friends? Can you imagine the excitement and deep satisfaction of building on the broad reservoir of knowledge you have acquired, adding new dimensions, reading about new vistas that always interested you but you never had time for while fully occupied in your Foreign Service career? If you are like most of us, we kept promising ourselves that we would take time to read and explore ideas that interested us or take the time to augment our knowledge with a deeper plunge into new waters. But, of course, there was scant time for that as the demands of a career and public service always took priority. Life after retirement offers wonderful opportunities to refresh your mind and learn all kinds of things. For the first time since college, you are the master of your own time and can pick and choose new avenues to broaden your knowledge, keep your mind sharp, discover new worlds of ideas, and make friends along the way. An Idea Whose Time Has Come Lifelong learning is sweeping the country, and new retirees can find a wide range of opportunities for continuing education. Universities, colleges, and institutions such as the Smithsonian Associates are adopting programs
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