Thirty-five years ago, the word “breast” couldn’t be said in public. For women with breast cancer, this led to decreased care and a stigmatized lifestyle. People would cross the street to avoid breast cancer victims, according to speaker Nancy Brinker.
Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Race for the Cure, spoke in the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center Nov. 4. Hosted by the Turner Center of Entrepreneurship, the event was the fourth presentation in the Distinguished Entrepreneur Speaker Series, which began in February of 2013.
University President Joanne Glasser introduced Brinker, a former Peoria native.
Glasser said that she associates both Brinker and Bradley University with innovation and adaptation.
“It’s a story all of you can learn from,” Glasser said.
Brinker told students about her experiences in entrepreneurship, her community work as a young girl and how she later established the Komen Foundation.
She also spoke about the important entrepreneurial qualities of perseverance, relying on others and the ability to apologize.
“You have a choice: waste time focusing on what you don’t have, or focus on what you do have,” Brinker said.
She said that being an entrepreneur is having the passion to make the impossible possible.
Brinker encouraged students to persevere in their passions and to continue their work, even if others tell them to quit.
“You’ve got to move forward, and do what you do,” Brinker said.
