Energetic Leadership and Motivational Speaker Pegine Excites Students
November 16, 2022 – Best-selling author and award-winning businesswoman Pegine shared
her inspirational journey from a rough upbringing on the streets of New York to an
advisor to U.S. Presidents and CEOs during the Simpkins Speaker Series event Wednesday
on the Cocoa Campus.
Pegine talked about her teen years, when she lost a sister to a drug overdose and
became part of a gang.
She knew the moment she wanted to get out, change her life and find out who she was
supposed to be.
“Inside my mind, inside my head, this was going on: I am so not going to be like my
sister. And in my mind I said, just show me who I am supposed to be,” Pegine told
the crowd.
With only $1,000 in her pocket, she got on an airplane and moved to Spain at the age
of 17.
She went to multiple nursery schools looking for a job, but because she did not speak
Spanish well, everyone turned her down.
With the need to make money quickly, she had the idea to open what she called the
first bilingual preschool where she was living in Spain.
“I remembered that in the United States bilingual education was going on,” she said.
“I finally decided that I would open a bilingual nursery school for English and Spanish
and with the help of a local investor I was able to do it,” said Pegine. “It was then
that I knew I could do anything.”
An introduction video drove home just how far she has come, showing Pegine as an advisor
to U.S. Presidential task forces, international organizations and numerous Fortune
500 companies. Her focus is on teaching leadership skills and the importance of effectivey
engaging with people and stakeholders.
Pegine, who lives in Jacksonville, is the founder of Power Women Worldwide, and goes
by one name while joking that if it’s good enough for Oprah and Beyoncé, it’s good
enough for her.
Her newest book is “Called to Lead: Success Strategies for Women.”
Pegine shared many tools, tips and techniques that helped her grow into the entrepreneur
that she is today, including stories about influencing, impacting and inspiring others
to increase profits, productivity and positivity.
“There is this beautiful buffet of life in front of you and you need to find what
you love and take leadership of it. Whatever it is — that you are destined to do.
You feel a lot happier when you are doing your passion and living your purpose.”
Pegine interacted with the crowd, which was comprised of EFSC students, plus students
from Brevard County high schools, including Viera, Rockledge, Space Coast, Merritt
Island, Titusville, Astronaut, Cocoa, plus the Emma Jewel Charter Academy.
At one point she asked if there were any teenage entrepreneurs in the crowd, and selected
a young woman who said she makes custom t-shirts. Pegine then walked her through how
to establish a personal brand during an engaging exhange that led to laughter and
lessons that every student could put to use.
The Simpkins Speaker Series is the legacy of highly successful Space Coast entrepreneur
and Brevard County business leader, Bernard W. Simpkins, who established the event
to bring the nation’s top business innovators to Eastern Florida State College.
Fall 2022 Simpkins Scholarship recipient E’ala Burgess (left) receives her ceremonial
check from Tonya Cherry, EFSC Foundation Operations Executive Director, Jill Simpkins,
daughter of the late Bernie Simpkins, and Dr. Mike Cadore, EFSC Executive Director
of Community Engagement.
During each event, an EFSC student is awarded a $1,000 Simpkins Scholarship by the
Eastern Florida State College Foundation for their excellence in the classroom and
true entrepreneurial spirit.
The Fall 2022 recipient was EFSC student E’ala Burgess, who is currently pursuing
a Business Administration Associate degree and then plans to earn a Bachelor’s degree
in Business Management.
“Because of the life I was privy to as a youngster, the entrepreneurial spirit now
runs through my soul and I have a determination to succeed with my business, no matter
how long it may take or what obstacles come forth,” Burgess wrote in her scholarship
application essay.
“I am a driven and ambitious young woman who knows what she wants in life and in business,”
wrote Burgess, who also works full time and is developing a local pet and house sitting
company.
Pegine encouraged that kind of entrepreneurial initiative even while young, emphasizing
that entrepreneurship includes being powerful, strong and having an impact.
“Just because you are where you are, does not mean that is where you will end up,”
she said. “Be bold. Be brave. Be seen. Be heard. Be paid well. If you don’t do it,
it is only you who decided that you couldn’t. Decide that you can because you are
worth it.”
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