By Rashaed Esson and Deandrea Hamilton

Editorial Staff

#TheBahamas, March 16, 2023 – The Bahamian native, Richea Haygood, born and raised in Nassau, is among today’s group of women who are breaking the glass ceiling in the professional world.

Richea’s road to excellence is nothing short of inspiring. She tells me that her purpose was relatively clear at a tender age, that is to accomplish great things in all aspects of her life including accounting. She told a short story of her skills in money management as a little girl in light of her early realisation of her place in the world.

“I had great money management skills even as early as 6^th grade.  For my graduation trip, we had this week of activities. I literally initiated a payment plan with my teachers, and I covered my entire week’s cost. My parents did not put anything into it.”

Couple this uncommon foresight with parents who consistently told her that life would be what she made of it, that she was gifted with the ability to accomplish whatever it is she wanted . 

Richea grabbed hold of those repeated refrains and took charge in a most uncommon way.  The young woman, just weeks away now from graduating with her Bachelor’s Degree, believes she is living her dream due to old fashioned passion and determination.

After graduating from the Kingsway Academy High in Bahamas in 2019, where she was Head Girl, Richea immediately reached for greater opportunities.  A part of a larger vision was her high school success and in those critical years, a plan was designed.

She easily reflects on the day she attended a college fair where a previous president of the Harris-Stowe State University   captured her attention; it appears the feeling was mutual as Richea next made history, becoming one of the first international students to be flown out to Harris-Stowe’s student acceptance day.

Richea explains that almost instantly, she had a liking for the small, family-oriented university, and decided to enrol.

She was then awarded a full ride scholarship to Harris-Stowe State University.  Harris-Stowe was established by the St. Louis Public Schools in 1857, making it the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River and the 12th such institution overall.  Harris-Stowe has evolved much since the time when segregation was the order of the day, it is now an illustrious institution for ambitious bright minds, of all diversities and ethnicities.

In her freshman year, Richea chose to ease into her new life; this she said allowed her to adjust to university living. By her sophomore year,  she started amped up involvement. Strategically, Richea began to expand her network with the faculty and the Anheuser Busch school of Business, and here the trend for success and outstanding accomplishments continued.

In April of 2021, she was a student worker in the Department of Institutional Advancement and, in the same year, up to 2022, she interned with Deloitte and Touch, LLP Chicago Illinois in Audit and Assurance.

Richea was selected for the internship; beating out dozens of others for a coveted spot in a world class accounting firm.

In that same period, she again took the position of student worker at her university in the Department of Business and Financial Affairs, and today, she is the Accounting Office CFO.

But successful internships were not new for this young stand out.  In 2019, before venturing to the United States,  Richea interned at KPMG in Nassau, Bahamas.

Behind all of that experience at the young age of 21, Richea has a mountain of notable achievements including the National Award for the highest A, in the Bahamas Bookkeeping and Accounting examination.

Also, during her graduation year, Richea Haygood earned and won first place in KPMG’s accounting bowl.

By 2021, she went on to receive the Backpack to Briefcase St. Louis, Missouri, Larry Blue Jr. Leadership Award for exhibiting exceptional leadership qualities and professional development. She even received a scholarship from Wells Fargo, a financial services company in the US, for exemplified outstanding academic achievements and this is no surprise since she got Provost Honors after maintaining a cumulative GPA between 3.5 and 4.0.

Not only that, but she was also a part of Deloitte’s Emerging Leaders programme last April in Texas and was one of the scholarship recipients rewarded with $10,000. Proof that firm commitment to education and purposeful pursuits do pay!

Only this year, Richea was inducted into the National Society of Leadership and Success, the largest leadership honours’ society in the United States.  Also, regarding her application for an all-expenses paid leadership training session in Washington DC, she was pumped to know that it was successful.  The Association of Government Accountants of the United States selected Bahamian, Richea Haygood, as one of fifteen exceptional, up and coming business professionals from across the collegiate world to attend the conference this past February.

While all of this was happening, Richea was still honing her skills and expanding her experience through voluntary activities. She volunteered at: her University as Sophomore class treasurer in the Student Government Association, the Xavier University in their 3M Case Competition; The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People – HSSU Chapter; the Student Government Association as Executive Board Treasurer; Regional Business Council Mentor Network Programme; St. Louis NAACP 110^th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Freedom Fund Dinner; XULA and 3M Partnering for Progress National Sales Case Competition and the Anheuser School of Business Student Ambassador.

Many would wonder where Ms. Haygood finds time for fun.  But unsurprisingly she also has a good balance between work and leisure. Despite all her hard work and accomplishments, she finds time to go out with friends.

As a young successful black woman, Richea’s goals do not only align with her personal dreams. She strives to inspire and encourage more young people to take advantage of opportunities. This has been the biggest lesson she has learned along her journey. She is also a firm believer in the saying “timing is key”, most importantly God’s timing.

Driven by the notion of creating generational wealth, Richea, like everyone around her, sees herself going far in life and it has already started. She was recently nominated for membership in Harris-Stowe’s Anheuser-Busch School of Business, Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business. This is yet another fantastic feat.

Within the next five years, Richea plans to have her MBA and soundly passed her CPA exam; the Certified Public Accountant examination which is the highest rank as an accountant sets this young woman up well for her dream of becoming a top executive within Deloitte and Touche.

Landing at the top of one of the world’s most reputable and leading accounting firms was part of the plan and for Richea, it is rapidly, thrillingly becoming a part of her well-earned reality.