Hampton also discussed a list of different topics, including how her time at Winthrop prepared her for leadership positions, noticeable changes around campus and her go-to struggle meal in college.
By Clark Vilardebo
Editor-in-Chief
In April, news of Shanola Hampton ‘98 returning to campus to give the commencement speech at May graduation rightfully made students excited. Even more so when it was announced that she would be speaking at panels for theater students, current students and alumni.
Hampton is best known for her performance as Veronica “V” Fisher on the Emmy-nominated show “Shameless,” along with her starring role in “Found” as Gabi Mosley and the face model of Rochelle in the video game “Left 4 Dead 2.”
Despite a packed two-day schedule, which included receiving an honorary doctorate degree, Hampton took some time to sit down with the Johnsonian and talk about her time at Winthrop.
Growing up in Summerville, South Carolina, Hampton knew she wanted to stay somewhat close to home, but it was really her sister that inspired her to come to Winthrop.
“Honestly, my sister’s experience here,” Hampton said. “My oldest sister, Dr Andrea Hampton Mills, came to Winthrop when it was all about teachers, and they put out the best teachers, and my sister is one of them. She became the best principal and the best leader, but it was the community that she found when she was at Winthrop, it was her coming home all happy that made me go ‘I want to taste that buzz. I want to feel that community.
The fact Winthrop had a theater program helped just as much.
“I saw that they had one, and I wanted to major in theater. Marc Powers was the dean at the time, and I fell in love with him and I wanted to be with them,” Hampton added.
Hampton also highlighted the importance of arts programs at this current moment.
“We as an industry are changing. What’s happening in the schools cannot [change]. We have to continue to champion the arts, and we have to continue to pour into people as individuals and not as a mass thing, because each individual offers a different thing,” Hampton said.
During her time at Winthrop, the theater program was not accredited, which it is now by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).
That is just one of many changes Hampton noted when talking about the changes to the university since she attended in the late 90s.
However, she mentioned two places that brought back memories to her college days: Johnson Hall and Margaret Nance Hall.
“Well, I am happy to see Johnson still be the same, because that’s my stomping ground. So when I walk in there, it feels like home, and I knew how to get to every part of it,” Hampton said. “Margaret Nance is still here, and that was my dormitory. Still community bathrooms, I hear.”
Hampton credits the classes in Johnson Hall for giving her the confidence and leadership skills that allowed her to accomplish things like being a producer on “Found.”
“[One] of the things that Winthrop presented, even from freshman year, was being active in different roles. So even though I was a stage performer, it was making sure you also knew how to make costumes and props, and really taking ownership of every project and also nurturing when you had your own ideas to go ahead and produce them, direct them,” Hampton said.
Discussing what helped her de-stress in college, Hampton said a common answer among students: the gym.
Her next answer may come as a surprise.
“Cultural events. I don’t know, I was the weird one who loved them. You were learning different things, you were participating and it’s a great way to meet people that you wouldn’t normally hang out [with],” Hampton said.
Then, speaking directly to freshmen and other incoming students, Hampton said to “do them [cultural events] early. Don’t do the dumb thing where you wait until senior year.”
Hampton also cautioned incoming students against putting off assignments to the last minute.
“Don’t procrastinate. It’s my biggest rule. I do it for my family. Don’t procrastinate on papers. Don’t procrastinate on projects. Don’t procrastinate. The biggest thing that you could do is give yourself time to finish and then you can go back and tweak things,” Hampton said.
Besides advice, when discussing her collegiate life, Hampton talked about her favorite college struggle meal – peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Specifically, the ones with the jelly and peanut butter in the same jar.
She also discussed her work on “Shameless,” mentioning that Steve Howey consistently made her break character and she still keeps in contact with Jeremy Allen White despite his rise to fame.
“I was just on the phone with Jeremy when I landed, he was coming back from the Met Gala, and I gave him crap. Why? Because he used to tease people who went to the Met and now look where you are,” Hampton said.
When all was said and done though, Hampton hammered home that finding a community is the most important aspect of college, and she feels Winthrop really provides that ability as a whole.
“I would not be where I am today, doing what I’m doing – producing, leading, acting in my own show – if I didn’t have the foundation of Winthrop. That is not just ‘come to Winthrop,’ it is absolute fact. The nurturing, like I said, with the community, having professors that see you as an individual, and making sure they pour into your specific needs,” Hampton said. “The confidence that gets built by the professors here at Winthrop [and] letting you know that you can do anything and you don’t have to just put yourself in one little area.”
