On Sunday, May 14, 2023, Ms. Cimone Lurline Richardson of Sandy Ground, Anguilla graduated from Hampton University in Virginia, USA with a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science, Summa Cum Laude. Cimone, who is the daughter of Carol E. Richardson of Sandy Ground is also a 2019 Sixth Form Graduate of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in three years and graduated in the top 1% of her class, university-wide. She was the only student with a Bachelor’s degree in this field.
Cimone was also the recipient of several honors, awards and scholarships, including:
• The McNair Scholars Award, honoring the late astronaut Ronald McNair who died on the Space Shuttle Challenger
• The Departmental Honors Award for Pharmaceutical Science
• The School of Pharmacy Award of Excellence in Recognition of High Scholastic Achievement
• The Spear Research Scholar
• The Sentara Nursing Scholarship
• The Cerner Government Services Diversity Scholarship
• The Lilly Endowed Pharmacy Scholarship
• The Vernon Fitzgerald Cooper Endowed Scholarship
• The Golden Key International Honour Society
During her studies Cimone worked as a Knack Student Tutor, tutoring freshman students. She also served as a School of Pharmacy Student Recruitment Ambassador and was a member of the Caribbean Pre-Alumni Council.
Last Summer she completed a ten-week internship in Breast Cancer research at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as part of her degree requirements. Over the next few months, as a Spear Research Scholar, she will be completing a special Lung Cancer Research project at Hampton University. Cimone’s goal is to become a Pharmaceutical Scientist and her outstanding achievements have earned her several postgraduate scholarship offers from a number of universities. She has accepted a full-ride offer from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is scheduled to begin her Doctoral studies in Pharmaceutical Science in August.
Cimone would first like to thank God for His blessings and opportunities, and for giving her the perseverance and determination to succeed. Secondly, she would like to thank her hard-working and supportive Mom, Carol, for all of the sacrifices she has been making on her behalf. “Not only did she motivate me to be the best at whatever I do, she also taught me never to settle for less.” Gratitude is also extended to all her Teachers, relatives, godparents, friends, the Sandy Ground and Bethel Methodist Church communities and the Anguillian community at large, for mentoring and nurturing her.
