I Am Dr. Claudia Barnett

It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to introduce a new woman to you all. For those who are new, welcome! For those who are returning, glad to see you back! Today I will be highlighting Dr. Claudia Barnett, who was nominated to be featured by Lisa Ramos. She was such a wonderful person to get to know, so I hope you enjoy the article as much as I enjoyed speaking with her!

Claudia Barnett is from New York City, born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx. She attended the City University of New York where she triple majored, you read that right, she triple majored in Psychology, African American Studies, and Sociology. She also got her masters from Kean University where she was the first African American to graduate from the program of Industrial Organizational Psychology. Then, after many years she pursued her doctorate degree in Training and Performance Improvement. She currently works as an Independent Consultant, where various different companies hire her to help train their employees with various different changes and upgrades.

When asked about her greatest achievement Claudia attributed it to her kids. She explained that even while being married for a part of her life she raised all the 3 of them on her own and she is proud to say they are all independent, and successful. What mother could ask for more?

Professionally she attributes her greatest success to going back to school after a 25 year gap of not being in school. What an achievement for someone to accomplish, take Claudia as a sign for you to never give up on yourself. Claudia had explained that she was accepted into grad school a total of 3 times over the 25 year span, the first two times did not work out, but with perseverance and dedication Claudia was able to make it happen on the third time. So many of us would have scrapped the idea on the first or second try, it is time to alter our mind set from “if it doesn’t work, throw it away” to “if it doesn’t work, find a way to fix it.” Don't sell yourself short, don’t give up too soon; good things take time.

Claudia explained to me that changing her mindset was the hardest obstacle for her to overcome in life. She went on to say that it can be easy to dwell on what did or didn’t happen in the past, but it is best to alter your thinking to what needs to be done and analyze what abilities you possess to make it happen. As women in particular, we tend to hold ourselves to extreme standards and then beat ourselves up when we can’t achieve them. Don’t focus on what can’t happen, or what you don’t look like; focus on what you can do and the amazing things your body has done for you. This is an obstacle many people struggle with to overcome, however it can be tackled with persistence. Let Claudia be an example to those who need a reminder that it can be done.

During our conversation Claudia and I also discussed the journey of her first book The Dissertation Process: A Step by Step Mentor Guide. She explained how once she was accepted into grad school and was finally able to go, she began to document the process. As she got further into the documentation she realized that her experience would be so beneficial to others who are going through the same thing. Besides The Dissertation Process: A Step by Step Mentor Guide, Claudia has written 4 other books in her efforts to add as much information as possible to the body of knowledge. I admire her reason behind why she writes because it is in hopes to better someone else’s life/ experience. We all have something to contribute to the world, so don’t hold back, you never know who it may help.

Before I begin to wrap up the article, Claudia’s best piece of advice is to not waste time and enjoy the journey. In such a fast paced society it is ingrained in us to set a goal and get there, but once we get there we look back on all that was taken for granted. Set goals, reach for the stars but take the time to appreciate all the little steps it takes to get there!

A big shoutout goes to Claudia’s big sister Sonya, who Claudia recognized as her biggest supporter. Claudia thanks her sister for her unwavering support and her wonderful job as role model to her! Claudia also attributes her greatest female inspiration to her 3rd grade teacher, who was the first black teacher Claudia had and she admired her because she finally had someone that she looked up to and looked like her. She also acknowledged a college professor she had in undergrad with whom she stays in touch with to this day!

I hope you all enjoyed getting to know Dr. Claudia Barnett as much as I did! A huge thank you goes out to Lisa Ramos for nominating her to be a part of the I Am Woman community. If you didn’t know Lisa was also featured on I Am Woman, give her name a click to read her article!

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If there is a woman or women in your life who you want to see featured on I Am Woman, send over an email to iamwoman.www@gmail.com with their contact information. I will be more than happy to reach out to them and get their feature article up as soon as possible!