By Kwame Cumalé Fitzjohn, USA
Today, Friday, November 18, 2022, all roads lead to one of America’s elite research universities, Florida State University (FSU), where outstanding Sierra Leonean Developer Nigel Parkinson, Sr. (pictured) will receive a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (COSSPP). This journal, The Patriotic Vanguard, featured Nigel in a Black History Month special in 2014 - please visit http://www.thepatrioticvanguard.com/black-history-month-nigel-parkinson.
Distinguished alumnus award
Nigel will be among three other renowned alumni of FSU that will be presented awards. The awards are given annually to exceptional alumni for professional achievements, contributions to society and support of the college and university. Over the years, Nigel has not only supported FSU, he has also rendered financial support to his alma mater, the Methodist Boys High School and to its counterpart, the Methodist Girls High School – both located in Freetown. In addition, he has made substantial contributions to the National Organization of Sierra Leoneans in North America (NOSLINA), and to youth in Mozambique and Ethiopia.
Today, Nigel will be an honoree that will be celebrated at the COSSPP’s Annual Distinguished Alumni Gala. “This is the college’s highest honor for alumni, and I am proud to recognize this year’s Distinguished Alumni for exemplifying the impact of great graduates of the college make,” said Dean Tim Chapin. “Each has been a leader within their field, making lasting impacts within the communities they work in.”
Parkinson Construction Company
Nigel is President and CEO of Parkinson Construction Company, the oldest and largest African American owned, self-performing construction company in the Washington metropolitan area. He founded the company in the early ‘80s shortly after moving to Washington, D.C.
Specializing in general construction, construction management, and masonry, Parkinson’s Construction Company has worked on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, Nationals Ballpark, the Pentagon and BWI Airport, to name a few. As the logo of the company reads, “We don’t just build structures, we build landmarks.”
NIGEL’S JOURNEY
Nigel’s journey began in Freetown, Sierra Leone. At the age of 17, with little money in his pocket but a burning desire to expand his world, he immigrated to the United States. He began by selling magazines door-to-door in New York City and quickly enrolled at Florida A & M University where his great-grand-uncle, Thomas DeSaille Tucker, had been that school’s first president. Tucker, born in Sherbro country in Sierra Leone, was brought to the U.S. by a missionary in 1856 when he was 12 years old.
From Florida A & M, Nigel proceeded to FSU where he earned a Master of Science in Public Administration and Management (M.S.P.A.) in 1975. Later, he was certified through Harvard Business Schools’ Owner/President Management Program.
Nigel has been engaged with the D.C. Contractors Association and is past president of the National Association of Minority Contractors. In addition, he supports high school STEM programs and established a program for returning citizens who seek to learn construction trades as they re-enter society following incarceration.
“I am proud and humbled to be selected as a recipient of a COSSPP Distinguished Alumni Award,” Nigel said. “As I walked the FSU campus several decades ago, I never would have imagined that the information, stimulation, and encouragement I received would lead me to the level of success and sense of accomplishment I have felt. While I knew I was in a special place, it was much later that the threads came together, and I could truly appreciate my total experience. As I look back, I am eternally grateful to the professors, aides, mentors, and other staff who instilled within me the confidence to confront any challenge and work through any difficult situation. COSSPP’s rich learning environment, infused with the maturation process associated with the graduate school experience, can rightly be credited with producing many who have enjoyed successful careers.”
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