On Wednesday, April 26, the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, Jenean Hampton, visited Russellville Junior/Senior High School from 9 a.m.-noon. Junior Ambassadors Dillon Porter and Ashlee Gilbert introduced the guest speaker.
Jenean Hampton was born in 1958 in inner-city Detroit into a financially humble household. Despite watching her mother struggle to raise four girls, Lt. Gov. Hampton knew she was blessed to live in a nation where people could rise from poverty. After earning an Industrial Engineering degree in 1985, she joined the U.S. Air Force as a computer systems officer, writing computer code and testing software. Her seven years of military service included a tour of duty in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.
Following her military service, she began a 19-year career in the corrugated packing industry. She started as a crew supervisor on the production floor and was soon promoted to other positions, rising to plant manager.
In 2003,.Hampton moved to Bowling Green, where she continued her career in the corrugated packaging industry. At that time, she knew Kentucky was the place where she wanted to spend her life and help improve the lives of others. In 2014, Lt. Gov. Hampton decided to jump into the political arena, running for the Kentucky State House. In 2015, she was approached by candidate of governor Matt Bevin to be his running mate, and they were elected. In just a short time, she and the governor have already started working on tangible solutions to major issues that hamper Kentucky’s growth.
Lt. Gov. Hampton is married to retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Dr. Doyle Isaak.
She shared with the students that in her first year as lieutenant governor, she has spoken to over 4000 students, and this is one of her favorite things to do within her role.
She advised students to take as many classes as they can, even classes they may hate, for “you never know where it may take you”. For instance, she hated speech class in high school, but she had to give more speeches in engineering school and currently.
As she grew up, she shared she was somewhat pressured by her peers...they questioned her reading, her studying, and even her music, "Motown", which had its roots in Detroit. She came to realize she could be “Jenean” when she charted her own path, tuned them out, and became who she is.
She was greatly influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words of don’t judge by one’s color of skin but by their character. She grew to realize her role models didn't have to look like her. She loved to read, especially science fiction, which may have prompted her to join the Air Force in 1985. She had never been out of her hom town of Detroit. She loved living in the era of NASA in the 60's. She wanted to be an astronaut, but she is near-sighted, and astronauts have to have perfect vision. However, she stated the journey helps you be better than you realize. She is a twin and has 4 sisters.
She shared she grew up poor and from a divorced situation. She learned to sew and made her own clothes, realizing there is engineering in sewing. She worked in the garden and learned from much of her journey, especially to count her blessings. Her mom is now 90 and lives with her.
She knew she wanted to go to college so she worked her way through school, graduated from Wayne State in Detroit, joined the Air Force, and then began working in the corrugated boxes industry. She became fascinated with how a factory works. She went on to receive her MBA at the University of Rochester in New York. This allowed her to learn business. She was exposed to a wide range of interests. She sought out ways to improve things and was soon promoted to plant manager.
She is convinced that God got her into politics in 2009, with the rise of the tea party. She asked the students how many would like to meet and speak with their elected politicians. After their response, she said, “Every hand should go up that you feel comfortable talking to your elected officials…they work for you!”
She met Matt Bevin as he was running for U.S. Senate and was very impressed with his political stance and his character. In 2014, she ran for the House and lost, but she learned so much. She campaigned door-to-door. She was asked to become the running-mate with Matt Bevin. In the Kentucky Constitution the Governor and Lieutenant Governor run as a team.
As Lieutenant Governor, she has had opportunity to define and work with an entrepreneurial shop challenge. It is very much like "Shark Tank" for ninth graders. Kentucky’s top export industry is aerospace and aviation, and it is growing, making, and distributing parts for aerospace. Interests are in the STEM field, emergency preparedness, and the solar eclipse. In August, there will be issues with transportation, as people from all over will be coming to this area just to see the eclipse!
Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton allotted a time for questions, and she shared that she loves her job, loves talking to schools, doing anything with Military affairs, and the fact that “no two days are alike”. She travels all around Kentucky, helping to improve business climate. She shared that there is a huge company coming to Eastern Kentucky. She keeps a journal and pays attention to what people say.
Working in a bank, being in the Air Force, and working in the box industry, prepared her for this opportunity to arise. She encouraged the students to be confident, to believe you have a place in the world, to treat people well and learn what makes them think and do. Campaigning is tough, it is a huge responsibility, but one must be strong, bold, confident, and in it for the right reasons. Her life experiences and decisions forged who she is as a person. At age 10, she saw good stuff, but chose to tune out the bad. Never say never!
Lt. Gov. Hampton was well received by the Russellville Junior/Senior High School students and staff. After she addressed the 5th-12th grade students that morning, she visited classrooms and concluded her visit with a luncheon hosted by the Panther Catering FACS/Culinary Department under the direction of Mrs. Ashley McGinnis.