Class of 2026: Trading cosmetics for compounding, career-switcher Erika Nixon-Lambert puts on a new professional face

By Haley Tenore

When it comes to higher education, sometimes the untraditional route is the path forward. For Erika Nixon-Lambert, the long journey was rooted in cosmetics.

Nixon-Lambert spent years working in retail as a professional makeup artist before enrolling in Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Pharmacy, from which she earns her Pharm.D. degree with a certificate in aging studies this spring. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from VCU in 2002, but she then faced a decision: Begin a new career in the lab, or continue one in retail.

Nixon-Lambert picked the latter and worked with a cosmetics company for more than 17 years, rising to the role of retail manager. But the lure of academics never stopped.

"I wanted to go into pharmacy when I was at VCU the first time, but I did not have that discipline as a student back then. And then once I started making money, I didn't want to stop making money to go back to school," she said. "But I did reach a point in my career where I knew it was time to move on. I still love doing makeup … but I wanted to go a little bit deeper."

On her pharmacy path, Nixon-Lambert embraces the impact of educating patients about medications that could save lives. Along the way, she also has left her mark on the School of Pharmacy.

With two fellow students, Nixon-Lambert established the Black Student Pharmacist Organization at VCU. It brought together the experience of its members, and it tapped into her leadership expertise. BSPO eventually received the trailblazer award from the Black Graduate Student Association.

"Even though I came to school thinking I was going to get out of management, it manifested differently. I thought, 'If this group is here and people already want the community and they want the programming, why don't we provide the structure for that to happen?'" Nixon-Lambert said. "We pitched it to the school and had an interest meeting about making it an official organization. We had quite a few students who showed up, and it started with a small group of us. Then we started to grow within the school and partner with other organizations."

Elvin Price, Pharm.D., Ph.D., an associate professor and director of VCU's Geriatric Pharmacotherapy Program, saw Nixon-Lambert's talent through her participation in the McFarlane Scholars Program, which supports students interested in advancing geriatric care.

"Erika has the heart of a philanthropist. So, she's always looking to support people and to find resources in a community," Price said. "Her leadership skills were very evident. It was like having a faculty member as a student - someone who has a high level of responsibility and is very organized and willing to share from her professional experiences with her classmates and with underclassmen.

"When she was a P2 student, she was mentoring P1s," he noted, "or when she was a P3, she was mentoring P2s and P1s."

Erika Nixon-Lambert (center back with her arms raised) with other Pharm.D. students from the Black Student Pharmacist Organization, which she co-founded, at the "Legacy of Firsts: The William S. Cooper Celebration" in 2025 that spotlighted the School of Pharmacy's first Black graduate. (Amber Nichole, AmKay Photography)

During her second year as president of the BSPO, Nixon-Lambert added to her responsibilities by becoming president of VCU's chapter of Phi Lambda Sigma, a national leadership society for pharmacy students. She said she relished the chance to highlight and mentor "quiet leaders" whose contributions could be overlooked. Nixon-Lambert also served as the graduate student speaker for 2024's Sankofa Pinning Ceremony, an event hosted by VCU's Black Student Union that offers students, alumni and the VCU community a chance to gather to celebrate remembrance, reflection and growth, and she was the pharmacy intern at the General Assembly during the most recent session.

And reflecting her community mindset, Nixon-Lambert helped host the "Legacy of Firsts: The William S. Cooper Celebration" in 2025 that spotlighted the School of Pharmacy's first Black graduate. Held at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, the event highlighted his impact and raised money for the scholarship his family established in his name.

"We partnered with the School of Pharmacy and did a celebration program for him, recognizing how he trailblazed not only VCU but pharmacy in Richmond," Nixon-Lambert said.

Anne Masich, Pharm.D., an assistant professor who taught Nixon-Lambert during three courses and worked with her during her P4 rotation, was impressed by her commitment.

"With the information that we were teaching, she really took the time to learn it," Masich said. "Other students may want to know it to do well in an exam, but for her, I think she understands the importance of knowing the information for clinical practice and for patient care."

Nixon-Lambert hopes to start a career in compounding products, and she recently matched into the VCU Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program, where she will serve patients and mentor P4 students on rotation in a local community pharmacy setting. She also wants to pursue a teaching and learning certificate that would allow her to teach pharmacy students.

And she hopes that other students are inspired to return to school, even if they are unsure whether it's too late to make a career change.

"I tell people all the time that I'm happy I made the choice to go back to school and pursue pharmacy not only for my career, but to be able to show someone else that it can be done - because I'm not a young student," Nixon-Lambert said. "I wanted to be able to encourage students that if somebody tells you that you're not a good fit for something, or if you feel like it's too late for you to do something, or if you just want to change, it's possible."