#224: Reinvigorate Yourself After Retirement – Jean Small PhD, DTM

The Toastmasters Podcast with Greg Gazin with Ryan Levesque and Bo Bennett

The Toastmasters Podcast is a talkshow designed to amplify the Toastmaster magazine content, featuring interviews with Toastmasters, contributors and those connected with the articles of this monthly publication. ALL 250+ Episodes can be found at ToastmastersPodcast.com.

[29:55] Many in their retirement years may not know what to do with themselves. Some may feel a loss of purpose because some define themselves by their jobs or feel they are too old to do new things. Our guest today is Jean Small. At 88, she seems unstoppable and today she'll  illustrate with a glimpse into her ongoing incredible journey that anything is possible.

Jean retired in 2003 at the age of 68, and then joined a Toastmasters club in Jamaica. In 2021, she joined a club in Haiti to continue practicing her French by giving speeches. At 88 years old, Jean is one of the Toastmasters highlighted in an article of the March 2023 issue of the Toastmaster magazine called, “5 Ways to Reinvigorate Yourself After Retirement.”

Jean was born in the South American country of Guyana, Jean has taught French in multiple locations, including Nigeria, Australia, Jamaica, and Guyana. As a French teacher, Jean received multiple prestigious awards from the government of France for her contributions, including being named a Knight in the order of the Academic Palms. In 2011 she completed her Doctorate which promotes the application of theater techniques as the best tool for learning the French language.

Jean Small lives in Jamaica and can be reached on LinkedIn.