Shashe & Mel Pigram
Carson, CA
Former Occupation: Longshoreman

Chosen to Make a Difference
There’s something about Shashe Pigram, of Carson, CA, that people seem to gravitate toward. Maybe it’s the mental toughness she developed growing up in a tough environment in Los Angeles. Maybe it’s the positive power of daily affirmations her grandmother – who cared for Shashe and her sister while her mom worked multiple jobs – instilled within her. Maybe it’s the strength forged from overcoming challenges. Or maybe it’s her selfless commitment to changing lives through the Primerica business she helms with her husband, Mel.^{1, 2}

If you ask Shashe, she’ll tell you it goes deeper than that. “I came from poverty, on food stamps, the second daughter of a 16-year-old mom,” she shares. “But I believe God chose Mel and me to make a difference in our family and in our community.³

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through – because you made it to the other side. Why? Because you were going to connect with someone who was in foster care, or someone who went through a divorce, or someone who has suffered a loss. We truly believe that all of the struggles we’ve faced were perfectly designed to help us to serve clients and to mentor our team.”

Finding the Right Path
Shashe and Mel work their business as a team, with Shashe operating more as the “face” of the organization, doing activities such as meeting with clients, conducting trainings, and implementing the systems that keep the business moving smoothly. Mel’s strength is bringing new people into the office for a business overview and turning those prospects into Primerica Representatives.⁴

Before they embarked on their Primerica career, the couple was feeling stuck. “I thought we were doing the right things for our financial future,” Shashe reflects. “We had finally achieved home ownership, we were meeting some of our goals, and we were able to save a little for the future. But to get that life, we were working 12 hours a day, seven days a week and I didn’t feel like I had any purpose.”

A friend finally convinced her to come to a Primerica meeting, and Shashe saw something in the business opportunity that she hadn’t seen before.

Changing Reality
From the beginning, the Pigrams say Primerica’s “Buy Term and Invest the Difference” philosophy really resonated with them. ^5,6

Years before, the Pigrams had done what they thought was the right thing to protect their family’s future. “I’ve always believed in life insurance and at the time we had two young boys,” says Shashe.

“We didn’t really understand the different types of life insurance, but the agent sold us on the idea of building cash value in a whole life policy as a way to pay for our kids’ college. When we came to Primerica, we were shocked to learn we could have had a lot more coverage for what we were paying in premium. And that ‘college savings?’ After years of paying into the policy, the level of cash value we expected wasn’t there.”⁷

She continues, “Money is everything when you don’t have it – or when you don’t know to use it in a healthy way with Primerica’s HOW MONEY WORKS principles. When you can’t pay for your prescriptions, put food on the table, or come home and flip a switch not knowing if the lights will come on – these are things the average family worries about. Through Primerica, we help people change that reality.”

Finding Purpose
That sense of purpose Shashe recalls missing in her former occupation is what really fuels her drive to change more lives.

“Primerica isn’t just about helping families get the right kind of life insurance protection or develop a savings strategy that works for their goals,” Shashe explains. “Our business model requires people to grow, to self-improve, and to change. I’ve seen people come into the business one way, work through their challenges, and become the highest versions of themselves. That’s happened to us, as well.

“I came to Primerica to help a friend, but it’s the impact we have on others every day that really motivates Mel and me. Our lives have changed because of this business – and that change is the result of the work we’ve done on ourselves in order to help more families and be more successful.”