OAKWOOD, VA (MAY 3, 2025) – Members of the Appalachian College of Pharmacy (ACP) Class of 2025 received their Doctor of Pharmacy degrees Saturday during the college’s eighteenth commencement exercises.
In addition to conferring the Doctor of Pharmacy degree on the candidates for graduation, the college also awarded its first Doctor of Public Health degree.
Randal “R.J.” Kirk, one of biotech’s foremost individuals and executives and current executive chairman of Precigen, Inc., delivered the commencement address. Shobhit Sood was chosen by members of his class to deliver remarks on behalf of students at the event.
ACP President Mickey McGlothlin welcomed all to the ceremonies held inside the ACP gymnasium, noting the graduates in the Class of 2025 join the ranks of 1,074 ACP graduates already practicing pharmacy throughout the United States. He challenged members of the Class of 2025, as they prepare to take the NAPLEX exam to become licensed pharmacists to meet or exceed the pass rates of prior ACP students who have graduated.
McGlothlin noted ACP holds the distinction of having more than 95 percent of its graduates take and pass the NAPLEX exam. ACP also holds the distinction of having the second highest pass rate of any accelerated pharmacy program in the United States. Pass rates in 2022, saw ACP students place in the top 10 percent of three-year programs and exceed the pass rate of several other prestigious four-year pharmacy programs.
“Be the best pharmacist you can be,” McGlothlin told the graduates. “Always seek that first and foremost and to serve the healthcare needs of your fellow man. “I hope you remain students of pharmacy for life,” he added, stressing the importance of continuing education in an ever-evolving profession.
McGlothlin noted ACP is proud to be the pharmacy component of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine through its affiliation with VCOM under the parental guidance of the Harvey Peters Foundation.
“Each of you worked hard to obtain your Doctor of Pharmacy degree and we are proud of your accomplishments at ACP and will follow your professional progress with vested interest,” he added.
ACP Provost and Dean Susan Mayhew introduced Randal “R.J.” Kirk, who she noted was originally an attorney by training and who entered the biomedical field in 1983, co-founding General Injectables and Vaccines (GIV) in Bastian, VA. GIV rapidly became the largest independent marketer and distributor of pharmaceutics and biologics to the U.S. office physician marketplace and served as a springboard for Kirk’s entry into pharmaceutical manufacturing and ultimately, into research and development.
For more than a decade, Kirk was CEO of Intrexon, a company focused on advancing genetic and biological engineering to benefit the health and well-being of humans, animals and the environment.
In early 2020, Kirk stepped down from his post with Intrexon to become the executive chairman of Precigen, the former healthcare arm of Intrexon. Precigen is dedicated to developing the next generation of gene and cell therapies targeting the most urgent and intractable diseases in immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.
Kirk also owns a controlling business interest in Okanagan Specialty Fruits, grower of the groundbreaking Arctic Apple and Oxitec LTD, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock.
Kirk has been an Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine board member since May 2015 and sat on the board of visitors of Radford University from 2003 to 2009. Additionally, he served on the University of Virginia Board of Visitors from 2009 to 2012; the Virginia Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates from 2006 to 2012; and the Governor’s Economic Development and Jobs Creation Commission from 2010 to 2012.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business from Radford University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia.
In his remarks, Kirk congratulated students for their hard work and reminded them “sky is the limit for you. All you need now is the correct attitude. Based on your skill sets, you can figure it out and be confident.”
Kirk highlighted his own career journey, noting that research and development is certainly an avenue graduates could pursue with their new degrees.
He urged them to “protect their friendships and invest in them.”
Mayhew also introduced Sood, the son of Vandana Sood and Susheel Sood, who is originally from Los Angeles, CA.
Sood is a graduate of the University of California, Riverside where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience. He attended California State University, East Bay in Hayward, CA, where he was enrolled in the pre-professional health academic program and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, VA, where he earned a graduate certificate in pre-medical studies. He is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Health Economics and Outcomes Research from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA.
At ACP, he has served as Student Government Association class president and as vice president of various student organizations, including the Industry Pharmacists Organization, Student Leadership Council, American Pharmacists Association, Apothecary Medicinal Plant Society and the Diversity Task Force. He is a member of the Rho Chi Honor Society and has been on the Dean’s List since August 2022. He received the ACP Outstanding Student Leadership Award and the ACP Highest GPA Award in both 2023 and 2024. Awards for 2025 have not yet been announced.
He has published two papers in ACP’s Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding and Therapeutics. His rotations as a third year student have included those with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (Association Management), CVS Health Corporate (Omnichannel Pharmacy Product Development), True Rx Health Strategist (Pharmacy Benefit Management) and Employers Health (Managed Care Organization).
Sood was successful in securing his top fellowship choice and signed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship contract in Global Oncology Market Access and Pricing with AstraZeneca in conjunction with the Rutgers Health Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships (RPIF). He will be based at AstraZeneca’s headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD.
Sood congratulated his fellow classmates and recapped how in the course of three years, they had all worked together and studied together to get to graduation day.
“Continue to be advocates for each other and to be mentors to each other,” Sood said. “We made it and we did it together.”
After the presentation of degrees and hooding ceremony concluded, Mayhew administered the Oath of the Pharmacist to members of the graduating class, who promised to devote themselves to a lifetime of service to others through the profession of pharmacy.
Members of the graduating class who earned their Doctor of Pharmacy degrees Saturday were Basem Abdelhamed, of Bristol, TN; Rachel Ellyn Adkins-Wright, of Shelbiana, KY; Sarah Lenae’ Adkins-Roberts, of Shelbiana, KY; Henrietta Annor, of Frederick, MD; Sartaz Mamun Araf, of Bangladesh; Jamie Celeste Blankenship, of Hurley, VA; Nubia Magnus Bochuko, of Oklahoma City, OK; Jenna Renee Bowling, of Bluefield, VA; Danielle McClay Brizendine, of Poquoson, VA; Dawson Charles Browning, of Hazard, KY; Abigail Paige Burke, of Virgie, KY; Hannah Faith Casey, of Hurley, VA; Paxton Alexandra Casey, of Richlands, VA; Savanah Jade Cervinka, of Abingdon, VA; Barbara Ann Click, of Berwind, WV; and Meghan Lee-Ann Combs, of Whitesburg, KY.
Kaitlyn Louise Cook, of Bluefield, WV; Kaleb Seth Coots, of Vicco, KY; Caleb Matthew Damron, of Pikeville, KY; Mahmoud Mohamed Elhagaly, of New York City, NY; Shiva Fahami, of Oakwood, VA; Alborz Justin Fatheddin, of Roanoke, VA; Ahmed Hassan, of Orlando, FL; Makayla Therese Hutchinson, of Big Rock, VA; Emily Madison Lester, of Elkhorn City, KY; Abdulla Al Mamun, of Noakhali, Bangladesh; Larry Blake Marshall, of Langley, KY; Abanoab Gamal Habib Masry, of Bloomfield, NJ; Briana Leigh Maxfield, of Honaker, VA; Elizabeth Ann Mischel, of Salyersville, KY; and Alicia Gabrielle Morgan, of Iaeger, WV, also received their Doctor of Pharmacy degrees.
Erin Nicole Morgan, of Pikeville, KY; Siera Jewel Newberry, of Grundy, VA; Shakil Onio, of Ronkonkoma, NY; Blessing Ibukunoluwa Ali-Opanuga, of Oakwood, VA; Mona Ghanshyambhai Patel, of Hartsville, SC; Olivia Ann Harris Phillips, of Richlands, VA; Tyler Sargent, of Raven, VA; Stephanie Lyn Slone, of Elkhorn City, KY; Shobhit Sood, of Temple City, CA; Mandy Renea Stiltner, of Lebanon, VA; Juveria Fatima Syeda, of Briston, TN; Pushtiben Vijayakumar, of Statesville, NC; and Spencer Elliott Wireman, of Lexington, KY, also earned their Doctor of Pharmacy degrees.
Jennifer Lynden Hammons, of McClure, VA, earned her Doctor of Public Health Degree, becoming the first graduate of ACP’s Doctor of Public Health program.
A reception on the lawn followed the conclusion of the commencement exercises.
The Appalachian College of Pharmacy is the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 2003, the college accepted its first students in 2005. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Its mission is to cultivate a learning community committed to education, community outreach and the professional development of pharmacists. Its graduate pharmacists are now practicing throughout the United States.
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