Meet Kimberly, GSK Opportunity Scholar

Meet Kimberly Robertson, GSK Opportunity Scholar

Kimberly Robertson faced adversity much of her life.  She was born with partial facial paralysis and suffered abuse at the hands of a family friend.  She was beaten often while her mother slept.  Once when her mother was out, he held her hands under hot water, resulting in third degree burns.  Her suffering went unnoticed until a neighbor heard her screams and called 911. Kimberly was rushed to the hospital.

In elementary school Kimberly’s corrective surgery for her facial paralysis was unsuccessful and left scarring.  In her teens, she was molested, and in later years her first husband abused her, requiring considerable medical treatment.

Kimberly endured many hardships and abuses in her life, but she focuses on being an overcomer.  Her vision is to help others.  With her GSK Opportunity Scholarship, Kimberly will attend Durham Technical Community College as a first step in obtaining a bachelor’s degree in sociology, with a concentration in human services.

Through the strength of Kimberly’s faith, she located two of the people who abused her and asked them to forgive her for holding hatred in her heart towards them, and she forgave them for what they had done to her.  With such strength of will, she is the definition of success.

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.  For further information go to us.gsk.com, follow us on twitter.com/GSKUS or visit our blog (www.morethanmedicine.us.gsk.com/blog/).