Cheddar recently teamed up with Amazon Bestseller Jamie Hopkins to explore the term 'Rewirement' while highlighting those who didn't let retirement be the end of their journey and instead used it as a new beginning. Doctor Cynthia Barnett is a retired elementary school teacher, guidance counselor, and assistant principal of thirty years. Six years after retiring, Doctor Barnett created Amazing Girls Science, a nonprofit that has attracted over 500 girls to participate in camps and classes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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Re-Fire, Don't Retire: Tips for Making an Impact After Retirement

Welcome back to Cheddar News is closing bell. Everyone. This next segment is brought to you by Carson wealth. Your trusted financial advisor at Carson wealth will help you find your freedom by meeting you where you are and aligning your financial picture with your life's vision. While Carson wealth is the presenting sponsor of this segment, the opinions and statements expressed in the following our Cheddars. So Jenna recently teamed up with amazon bestseller Jamie Hopkins to explore the term rewire mint while highlighting those who didn't let retirement by the end of their journey and instead used it as a new beginning. Well today Jamie is speaking with Doctor Cynthia Barnett, a retired elementary school teacher guidance counselor, An assistant principal of 30 years. six years after retiring Dr. Barnett created Amazing Girls Science and nonprofit that has attracted over 500 girls to participate in camps and classes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Take a look. You have a saying and you even wrote a book about this right? Um you know, re fire, don't retire. What fueled your passion to inspire girls involvement in scientific fields after you retired from a teaching career? Well I don't believe in the word retirement. So when I was leaving the position, I told people I was going to refire my life and um I wasn't quite sure exactly what that was gonna look like. Then I read an article, a research paper by the AU W and it said women are not going into the sciences and why are there so few women a light bulb went off for me. I need to join that movement. So I joined the movement and I started the Amazing girls Science program to help girls ignite a spark for science because science is fun. Plus science is all around this and our girls need to know about all the different careers in science. So it sounds like you found passion and desire for something, right? He said, I don't believe in retirement as it is. I want to re fire you know, where did you, how did you find that movement to not retire from something which a lot of people do. They don't like their jobs, they're ready to retire but you retire to something a passion. How did you find that? Well, I, when I taught elementary school I thought everything through science and I found the kids had fun. They enjoyed it, there were no discipline problems. So it became a natural transition for me to create programs where kids are going to really feel that science is fun and learn at the same time. So I have incorporated all my experience as a teacher guidance counselor and administrator to create the amazing girl science program and I am passionate about it. Passion is an amazing thing. Do you think in you know this second or new phase, what you're working with young girls and getting them interested in science and technology and engineering. Do you found that your maybe making even a greater impact than you were before. You know how does impact come into all of this for you? absolutely. Well, in my 30 years, I mean I made some impact, but we are in the age of technology and when in my teaching experience, we weren't really not touching about, we were not talking about technology and so this really ignited a whole new passion for me. And so I am approached it with a lot of energy and gusto. In 1984 we saw a stat that, you know, women represented about 37% of all computer science graduates and now that number has gone down to 12%. That's, you know, if you look at that number on its face, it's not a good outcome over that course of time as you brought, we're in the age of technology. What are some of the factors that are behind this staggering decline in the number of women and young girls in the science fields? Well, there are many reasons, one of the reasons is role models. Girls need to have role models so they can look at the role model and say, well I can do that too if they're doing it. Um, there's a lot of sexism in the technology and stem fields. So because it's mostly dominated by men. So those are two of the factors that are really important. What do you believe we can do and what are you doing in your work where we can actually get some gender parody in the science and technology fields? Well, I believe it starts at home, we've got to let our Children and our daughters know how important science is because it's really all around us. And then the schools have a lot of responsibility to um to really show girls that they could become engineers, they could become scientists and tech experts. You were able to take your knowledge, your passion and you know, the skills you had in teaching and create something new with that and impact a lot of people when you look at that, how could you mentioned before your you can be a role model, You are a role model, you know, how do you do? How would you explain to other people how to take those same steps when they're going through a career and then have an impact on purpose after they retire or refire. As you said, one of the things that I have found to be very important is to start a pre game plan and not wait until the day you retire so that you have some kind of idea of what you want to do, looking at your interests and taking those dreams off the back burner and creating some kind of plan to make a difference and whatever you do whatever is in that back burner to take it off. And that is really what creates that purpose And passion dr Cynthia. I love your passion. I love your purpose. Thank you for being a role model to so many impacting girls all across this country and getting more young women into the science and technology field. I love this, Thanks so much for spending time with us here today. Thank you so much for having me. It's my purpose and my passion, but an amazing segment there. And if you want to learn more about how to rewire instead of retired, download your free copy of Jamie Hopkins amazon bestseller rewire mint now at Carson wealth dot com slash requirement.