Meet Marion Carberry | Motivational Speaker, Educator, Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marion Carberry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marion, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Since the 1990’s, I have been doing entrepreneurial activities. First, I incorporated my name and offered marketing and promoting services throughout the music and entertainment industries. I then opened a restaurant after the tragedy of 9/11.

I began my professional journey into education, I believe, for being a hardworking and pleasant student. So I was offered a teaching position at my Alma mater, which I accepted and immensely enjoyed. When I relocated to Florida, my employment aspirations led me back into education. Essentially, I had worked for several schools before deciding to open my own. It was not an easy decision, but I felt so constrained in my various roles, there was so much politics involved, and getting an opportunity to use my greatest talents were frequently overshadowed by bureaucracy.

I was also not impressed by the levels of service and student support that I had experienced at some of the schools that I began to feel unfulfilled. I’ve met some incredible and talented people at the places where I have worked, and I will never say anything bad about any school, but there was so much more that could be done on behalf of students rather than on behalf of the positions and personalities of leaders and hierarchy.

I am an intrepid. But I lacked political prowess, so playing games is not for me. And because I am of strong faith and confidence, often times playing second fiddle just does not work for me. So I decided because I had accumulated so much experience across the education spectrum that it probably would be best to go alone.
Initially, my shared goal with Dr. Picou, was to open an orphanage; but after some research found that would be more difficult than just opening a for-profit school, where our desire to help and support someone wanting to achieve a goal could be realized. It took about six weeks from thought to actually submitting application for my own technical school. Within nine months, we held the first class at Piberry Institute.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I began an extraordinary life and journey in the world of business and entrepreneurship in New York City. For close to ten years, I worked at over 50 Fortune 500’s and 100’s companies from Wall Street to Main Street as an “Administrative Assistant Temp,” which afforded me unique opportunities to study and learn diverse corporate acumen. I entered academia in 2000 and became an instructor, first at my alma mater, then at the largest online university.

My life has been greatly enriched by some of the professional, educational, and social experiences that I have had. For instance, as part of my MBA in Media Management degree, I traveled to Cannes, France, to attend the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. It was an impactful experience because I was fortunate to pitch a patented Multi-Functional Training Device I helped to invent, to the producers of the Mohammed Ali movie. About a year later, I wrote a talk show entitled “Edutainment Today”, and had the opportunity to pitch that to an agent for Russel Simmons. Obviously, nothing became of both those encounters but they left lasting impressions on me, especially as motivation for my future endeavors.

Always seeking self-improvement, I earned three masters degrees along this exciting journey. I selected each major as an enhancement to my professional goals in media, finance, and education.

It has now been 24 years since I entered the education industry. Throughout that time, I have worked in the highest positions, and ultimately, I founded my own technical college, where we have trained and graduated hundreds of nurses and medical assistants.

My school, Piberry Institute was launched in 2010 during the “Great Recession”. We persevered and obtained the licenses required to open our doors a year later. My goal for Piberry Institute has always been for it to be a place where its students feel invited, valued, and supported. Our programs were designed specifically to help students enter careers that are meaningful to the needs of society, such as in nursing, medical assisting, patient care, nursing assistant, and home health aide services.

Throughout the years, I have endured the scrutiny of the various oversight bodies, specifically from the State of Florida Commission on Independent Education, where nepotism, cronyism and bureaucracy are forces to overcome there.

Some people are just not aware that the roads travelled by an entrepreneur are not always easy. In my case, from start to finish, I experienced major challenges and setbacks after I opened Piberry Institute. But the joy I have experienced in watching my students go through the educational process to find and become their best selves, makes it all worthwhile.

Today, I am continuing to explore my talents in many ways. I am currently a realtor, a fearless realtor that is. I call myself fearless because despite any challenge or setbacks, I bravely step forward into my beautiful and unknown future where I believe that I will offer my greatest talents, yet to the World. The greatest of my passions belongs to public speaking. My mentor, Les Brown has a story in which asks his audience to imagine laying on their death bed and being surrounded by unfulfilled dreams. Even before I heard that story, I was always impassioned to never wanting to die with unused talents. As motivational speaker, I have present at graduations, college orientations, career fairs, workforce training, product pitches and conferences, miscellaneous corporate events, and meetings. I am accustomed to speaking in front of large audiences, as well as in smaller intimate settings.

My career as motivational speaker is spectacular. I have a story to tell, and am eager to share my life experiences with hope that it may help others to see and believe that they too can accomplish anything they set their minds and hearts to.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Unfortunately, I am the boring kind, who right now is seeking some spice in my own life. All fun aside 🙂 I love catering to my friends when they visit, so whatever they like eating, I get the freshest of its kind and cook for them. I love taking them to the Redlands Market Village where there are so many varieties of fruits and vegetables from all over the Caribbean and Latin America.

For eateries, I always visit the local Cuban bakeries for guava and cheese pastelitos, croquetas, cortaditos, and cafe con leches. There are also great places here in the south for authentic Mexican foods like tacos al pastors.

I love the theaters, so catching a performance at the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center or at Adrienne Arsht Center is always a good vibe.

I love to golf, so I also like to get in a few rounds either at the Redlands Golf and Country Club or Bonaventure Golf and Country Club in Weston. I even love the courses at Century Village and Pembroke Lakes when I am in the area.

For clubbing, Mangos on Ocean Drive is a must, although I have not been in years. Wynwood is an excellent place for a walking art and eating experience. It’s different cultural mix can peek the senses.

For beaches, I go to Hollywood beach, Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Delrey Beach, and for the patient and adventurous, the Beaches at Miami Beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My first real opportunity in my career began with an invitation to teach at my Alma Mata, Metropolitan College of New York, formerly known as Audrey Cohen College, that came through the hands of one of the purest spirits I’ve met in my lifetime, Dr. Faye Ran-Moseley, from New York University. Dr. Ran, gave me the opportunity to teach; The call went like this: “ Marion, how would you like to teach? What? Sure Dr. Ran. I would love that. Well, I don’t just have one class for you, I have three classes for you. Can you make it to my office this evening? “
I have no idea how she could have ever guessed that the field of education was part of my destiny. But she saw it, she called it, and she started me on my path. I am forever grateful for her kindness, and for seeing in me what I never knew could be possible. Sure, I would find myself by the whiteboard weekly reviewing material with my schoolmates, but I never thought anyone was watching. She was. I trust that I have honored the risk that Dr. Ran took on my behalf for hiring me, I have stayed in the realm of education, have done and given my best, and yes, I made it as an entrepreneur; which was the foundation of everything she and Audrey Cohen College taught us.

Website: https://marioncarberry.com/

Image Credits
Images provided by Ervin Palacios, Go Latino Magazine