The North Hardin High School graduate’s exposure to UofL classrooms started about a decade prior when her aunt, Tanisha Thompson ’06, ’14, hauled her along to her courses in Strickler Hall and elsewhere.

Now Hampton’s aunt and the rest of her extended family will be celebrating with her May 7, when she graduates with an undergraduate degree in political science and English and with a long-term dream of working in Middle Eastern foreign relations for the U.S. State Department.

With faith, the support of many and with the love of other special people she lost during her four-year college journey, she has made it.

“By the grace of God, this degree – I did it for them,” Hampton said.

Hampton, born to teenagers, grew up in the military town of Radcliff, Kentucky. She was adopted by her grandparents at age 17 and watched over by many other relatives.

“My aunt took a big responsibility in my life,” she said. “When she went to college, she made an effort to make sure I was exposed to (higher) education. That influenced a lot of my decisions.”

Both Thompson, her aunt, and her husband earned UofL degrees. When it was Hampton’s turn to call Belknap Campus home, she earned full-tuition scholarships and found new circles of support in the Society of Porter Scholars and the McConnell Center as well as Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

“Definitely coming back to UofL was very familiar,” Hampton said. “I really enjoyed that.”

As she settled into college life, she became increasingly interested in political science and international relations, minoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and adding Arabic language courses to broaden her skills.

Hampton earned scholarships for international study, visited Israel and Pakistan, and won a Critical Language Scholarship, sponsored by the State Department, for summer travel to Ibri, Oman, to study Arabic.

“I love the Middle East,” Hampton said. “I had a good time.”

But once she returned to the United States to start her 2019 fall semester, a series of tragedies began.

Starting with the unexpected death of her father, she lost four immediate family members over a series of months, including one relative the week before her spring finals. Then COVID-19 affected Hampton’s aunt’s mother-in-law, who had taught her to how to cook and influenced her life; at the beginning of Hampton’s senior year, she too was gone.

Under the circumstances, others might have quit on college, but Hampton felt encouragement from many fronts, including her school circles and her larger family.

Her sorority sisters have helped a lot, as have her McConnell Center leaders and fellow scholars.

“And if not for the Porter (Scholars) community, I don’t know what I would have done,” she said.

She thought it important to stick with her educational plan and not lose momentum by stepping away. “Once you get a cadence going, you need to grind it out,” she said.

“I want people to know that while the tunnel is dark, there is light on the other side. Finish if you can – do it for everyone.”

Hampton also gives credit to many faculty and staff members who supported her personally and pushed her academically. With help from several, ranging from her adviser, Luke Buckman, to her Arabic teacher, Khaldoun Almousily, to McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg, she was able to chart and stay her course at the university.

Professors David Anderson and Karen Chandler, with their expertise in African American literature, guided her also. And when she was applying for competitive travel scholarships, she received helpful guidance and editing assistance from Bethany Smith in the Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities.

With COVID constraints derailing international travel plans, Hampton intends to work for a year before pursuing graduate studies the following year in diplomacy or international relations. But before that, she’ll be celebrating commencement with “a pretty big shebang” with the rest of her family, now that most have been fully vaccinated.

Does she have any advice for other students discouraged by personal hurdles on their way to graduation?

“I would tell them, ‘At the end of every storm, there is a sunny day’,” Hampton said. “Ultimately, you have to pick it up and keep moving.”

In February, the political science major and first-generation college student was one of 22 students in the country invited to the inaugural national gathering of the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance that supports boys and young men of color.

“I was able to meet and speak to President Barack Obama. I shook his hand, looked him in the eye, and told him my name and where I came from,” Brown said. 

A Louisville Youth Voices Against Violence Fellow at the Youth Violence Prevention Research Center, Brown works with researchers, community partners, and community organizations to help reduce violence in West Louisville. He helps design and implement the organization’s social norming campaign.

“I first heard about the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance when my coworker sent me the application and suggested I apply for MBK Rising,” Brown recalled. “I decided to apply because the only requirements were ‘Are you a young man of color?’ or ‘Are you doing exceptional work on behalf of young men of color?,’ and all I had to do was submit a 60-second video highlighting work I do to ensure young men of color thrive.”

The west Louisville native traveled to Oakland, California, where he participated in MBK Rising, a two-day workshop aimed at finding solutions to obstacles and closing opportunity gaps that young men and boys of color face.

As part of his trip, along with engaging with Obama, Brown met with and listened to prominent figures that included NBA star Steph Curry, Grammy-winning singer John Legend, four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Richard Sherman, and award-winning actor Michael B. Jordan.

“What stood out most to me at the event was the number of young men of color from across the country that attended the event,” Brown, a Martin Luther King Jr. and Porter Scholar, said. “Once I got there, I was able to meet plenty of young men of color that were doing exceptional work in their respective communities whether it revolved around mentorship, violence prevention, speaking, writing (or) music.

“There were so many talented, passionate individuals that I couldn’t help but be inspired.”

Brown said he became involved in the community because of first-hand experience of inequity within the city. He wanted to make a difference and believes that the event strengthened his desire to do just that.

“Being invited to MBK Rising meant that my involvement and dedication to my community is important and necessary,” Brown said. “Having the opportunity to be recognized on a national level meant that I had an opportunity to widen my scope and have an impact on more people’s lives.”

Toward the latter part of the trip, Brown was one of hundreds able to attend and participate in a Town Hall meeting with Obama and Curry.

Though the dialogue and advice resonated with the crowd, it wasn’t Brown’s biggest takeaway from the trip. Rather, it was the continued connections with other attendees. 

“Moving forward, with the young men I’ve met at the end, we have already created an everlasting bond and we continue to stay in touch with each other and raise one another up,” Brown said. “I not only learned valuable lessons on community activism, but most importantly, I learned the importance of mentorship, brotherhood and service. I learned that in order to climb, I must lift as well.

“I will continue to uplift those in my community and am looking forward to more opportunities to grow and connect with individuals wanting to make a difference.”

A few weeks before the semester started, she learned she was one of 10 U.S. students to earn a $75,000 scholarship from Toyota. The prize, known as the Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Fellows Scholarship, is given through a partnership between Toyota and Rainbow PUSH Excel and includes an internship at the company’s Plano, Texas, manufacturing facility.

Smith will receive $25,000 a year for the next three years as part of the award.

“This scholarship has truly changed my life,” Smith said. “I feel that The Jesse Jackson Fellows-Toyota Scholarship has opened a door to a company that isn’t just focusing on creating cars. They are focused on creating products that will revolutionize the daily lives of consumers on a global scale. This element of Toyota really inspires me.”

Smith will begin her first cooperative education internship with the company during the spring semester. 

“We are so proud that she is being rewarded for the fine example that she sets for Speed School students,” said Mary Andrade, who directs the school’s Office of Career Development and Cooperative ����ֱ��, in about the award.

“I want to become an engineer to help marginalized groups of people. As engineers, we create products for the general population. I wanted to do something that enhances the lives of others – giving features and advantages beyond the status quo,” said Smith, who is also a .

Smith credits her parents, Pizas and Angela Smith, for inspiring her to reach new heights and the university for providing ongoing support and resources.

“I am extremely grateful to the University of Louisville for their love and support they have shown me,” Smith said. “I would like to give a special thanks to the UofL Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Without them, I would not have heard about this scholarship opportunity and had the courage to apply.”

Mr. Cardinal Kevin Jacob, a biology major from Louisville, is a Trustees Scholar, a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and the director of programming for the Student Activities Board. In 2016, he created a new program called Cards Against Hunger. He has also volunteered with the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. Jacob is interested in pursuing a career in the medical field. 

“Just being at UofL, you have all these opportunities presented to you and I wanted to take advantage of every single thing that I could,” he said. 

Ms. Cardinal Alisha Davis-Kent, an industrial engineering major from Louisville, is a Porter Scholar, a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Student Activities Board and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. The first-generation college student has also spent time as a mentor for local children. 

“Both of my parents instilled in me the importance of education, not just coming to school and reading some books, but having the discipline to grow and develop yourself,” Davis-Kent said. “I believe UofL offers a warm space where you can be who you are and you can come in imperfect and write your own story. You have the support behind you to accomplish the things that you dreamed of since you were little and the things you could have never imagined that you would be able to accomplish.”

Check out more of their stories below: 

She has also finished three co-op rotations, including two with the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. Now, she’s closing in on a degree in bioengineering, which she calls a “perfect fit” for her.

“Bioengineering is such a great field because it’s so broad and open. It opens you up to doing either the basic science side and research, it offers the more technical side, if you went into pharmaceuticals or something like that. It’s also directly still correlated with patients and helping people,” Lucas said. 

Lucas is on track to graduate in May. She then plans to pursue her master’s degree, also in bioengineering. 

Check out more of her story below:  

Since high school, Brown has been networking and connecting with other nursing students, and has taken advantage of a number of leadership opportunities at UofL. 

Brown has been a member (and, this year president) of the Black Student Nurses Association, SGA’s Student Council, the undergraduate research scholar program and more. 

“I’ve learned how to be able to delegate, how to prioritize, how to deal with tough situations and adversity here. I think it’s going to build me to be a good nurse and a good person in general,” she said. 

Brown graduates in May 2017 as a Porter Scholar, undergraduate research scholar and Nursing Student Council member. More of her story is below.

Hayley Kappes contributed to this story; video by Brad Knoop.