Adapt and Overcome: Turning the Page on a New Chapter in Life
Erik and Sherree Hampton (’15) exemplify veteran families who benefit from Veteran Services Office at Lipscomb
Rhonda Minton | Office of Advancement |
Current Lipscomb University student Erik and alumna Sherree Hampton (’15) are the first to admit the road from military service to civilian life has not been an easy one to travel. Had it not been for God’s grace that led them to two pivotal resources—a trauma recovery program and Lipscomb’s Veteran Services Office (VSO)—the couple may not even be alive today.
Instead, their life story has unfolded to college degrees for both of them at Lipscomb, involvement with the VSO and a desire to help others all while raising a family of four in Clarksville.
Young Dreams
The couple met in October 2006 through their minister while Erik was in the service. Having grown up in military families was one of the things they both had in common, and the two instantly connected.
“By November, we knew we were in love,” Sherree said. “He proposed in January, and we married in May.”
Born in Nuremberg, Germany, and growing up in Holland, Sherree and her brother were raised by their single mother who served in the Army. Sherree’s brother recently retired from the Army.
As a young boy in Louisville, Kentucky, Erik dreamed of becoming a soldier, tracing the footsteps of his father, uncles and a grandfather into military service.
“I’ve wanted to be in uniform my whole life and was all about ‘G.I. Joe’ as a kid. I saw the respect my father, grandfather and uncles received and how the room shifted when they entered it,” he said. “I learned from them about being a servant, and I knew the military was for me.”
Battles & the Homefront
Erik enlisted as soon as he could and spent 16 years in the military, four years with the Marine Corps and 12 years in the Army. He was stationed at Camp Kinser, Japan; Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Leonardwood, Missouri; and Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
He served six rotations in Afghanistan and Iraq before a combat injury in November 2011. All the battle experiences, compounded by the traumatic brain injury Erik suffered during the November attack, led to severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It dramatically affected him mentally, physically and emotionally as well as the family’s life at home and the Hamptons’ marriage.
While stationed at Fort Campbell, Sherree said PTSD hit its highest point. She started realizing Erik was hiding a lot of things while trying to deal with what he had experienced during deployments.
“He was a different person at home than he was in public. All the public saw was this great guy, and it definitely was not the case behind doors at home,” she said. “I grieved because I knew I wasn’t going to have the marriage I thought I would, and then I would feel like a bad spouse because I was around others whose spouses didn’t come back from battle, but mine did.”
He deployed again but came home early due to PTSD. With each deployment, Sherree said she prayed to God that Erik would return home with a sound mind.
“And I’ll be honest, there were times after he returned that I silently wished he had died—because life with him at the time was mean, unsettling and unbearable—but every day I thank God that he didn’t die,” she said with a grateful glance at her husband.
“Part of me did die there,” Erik quietly said. “Every deployment takes its toll on you mentally, physically, emotionally.”
Sherree knew life had to get better, and the couple briefly separated.
“My life was in a complete mess. Erik was not the man I married, but I was from a broken home and didn't want that for my children,” Sherree said. “I was using my own survival skills, and even contemplated suicide, because I did not want to live the life I was experiencing.”
Pathway to Healing
Sherree was determined to find a way to regain peace, either through definitive efforts to repair the marriage or file for divorce. Then one day while accompanying Erik to a neurologist appointment, she spied a flyer at the clinic about REBOOT Recovery, a 12-week, faith-based program led by peers that helps military families heal from service-related trauma. She snagged a flyer and handed it to Erik.
“I told him: ‘We’re going to do this,’” Sherree said.
“She literally dragged me to it,” Erik said. “I was such in a deep, dark place… and thought suicide was my way out. But I’d lost a friend to suicide, and I knew I didn't want my family to experience finding me.
“I pushed people away. I was emotionally numb. All the trauma from previous deployments kept piling on,” he continued. “It was uncontrollable.”
Noticeable improvements soon started happening as they worked through the course. They began to see the increasing potential to salvage themselves and promising signs of their marriage growing stronger.
“I fully admit it was God’s saving grace and how He used Sherree and my son in those moments that has allowed me—and us—to still be here,” Erik said.
Sherree: Resolute Student & Veteran Advocate
Life rolled on for the Hamptons. They decided to use Erik’s military benefits to both earn college degrees and landed at Lipscomb after learning about its Veterans Services Office (VSO) and how it could help them gain a private university education.
During a campus tour, they visited a class where the professor had asked the students a question, but no one answered. So Sherree raised her hand, answered it—and began a journey that led her to graduating in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in family studies and finding a home with the VSO program along the way.
VSO is dedicated to advocating for its student-veterans, their families and the greater community by providing Christ-centered personal support, seeking new resources and engaging in research to better understand Veteran Administration (VA) policies and military benefits and offering additional scholarships.
As a large population of veterans return to civilian life after serving our country, the ability of VSO to provide resources and opportunities to achieve academic and personal success to veterans who enroll at Lipscomb is essential. The Hamptons are two examples of the 1,343 veterans and/or veteran dependents the VSO has served since opening in 2009.
“At first, I wasn’t sure how I would fit in at Lipscomb because I was older, a mother and a military spouse which was so much different from traditional college students,” Sherree said. “I didn’t really fit in with other college students or professors, but VSO was a safe place I found where I fit, and the help the staff provides is tremendous.
“Since I wasn’t a veteran, I didn’t fully understand all of the military documents and paperwork, and the VSO staff helped me navigate it all,” she said “As a student, I experienced the different programs VSO offers, like veterans’ chapel, the Charlie Daniels Scholarship for Heroes Concert that happened during my time as a student, and Veterans Day events that support and acknowledge veterans.
“Plus, a lot of student-veterans may not have a Christian background, so at Lipscomb they receive education about Christ along with their traditional studies,” she continued. “I believe this benefits student-veterans by helping them find answers to their questions about ‘Where was God when this happened… or when I was injured or lost my friends?’—which were questions that often came up during conversations.”
When Tom Seals (’71), a Marine Corps veteran and now retired professor from the university’s College of Bible & Ministry, asked Sherree to speak during his classes with student-veterans, she didn’t hesitate.
“Being able to share the spouse’s perspective of military life was an opportunity I enjoyed,” she said.
Plus, Sherree helped bring the REBOOT Recovery program to campus as a resource to help Lipscomb’s student-vets in the manner it helped Erik.
Erik: From Conflict to Pastoral Leadership
At age 43, Erik began his freshman year in spring 2023 in the 4+1 program through which he will earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in pastoral leadership. Acclimating from military to civilian life was one transition, now Erik finds himself shifting to another role: college student.
“It’s been something, but it’s been rewarding,” he said with a laugh after completing his first semester in May. “The immense amount of grace that flows from the professors and the patience they show in allowing me (and others) as an older, student-veteran to transform into a student is incredible.
“The ability to connect with fellow veterans through VSO has made things easier, too,” Erik continued “Being able to have the cohesion and understanding with other vets has been a huge blessing.”
Since Erik’s military benefits for education were exhausted for Sherree’s education, Erik relies on guidance from VSO for help in locating financial assistance for his Lipscomb education. However, the critical resources needed to support VSO’s vision of scholarship assistance, career development and other relevant programs are declining, and funding is imperative for the program to continue its vision.
Erik said the decision to major in pastoral leadership directly stems from the conflicting journey of his past.
“After being injured during the service and being discharged, my identity was spiraling out of control,” Erik said. “I professed a life of Christianity, but really wasn’t committed. The tension and turmoil were taking hold of my life, and it was my wife who really shared God’s saving grace with me. She had every right and opportunity to leave, but she showed an immense amount of grace and patience to help get me where I am today.”
Like many veterans, Erik wrestled with adjusting to civilian life after being discharged from the Army in December 2012.
“For so many veterans, your identity is wrapped up in being in the military, and once you’re out, finding your new identity is hard,” he said. “It’s a struggle between ‘I am’ and ‘I was’ and accepting and understanding that God is turning the page to a new chapter. Like the children of Israel who wanted to return to slavery when things got tough, it’s so easy to go back to what is familiar. However, the military taught me to adapt and overcome.”
Erik credits VSO for helping him maneuver the transition.
“The staff at the VSO have been over-the-top helpful. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember that I am no longer a soldier, but rather an active member of society who is turning the page in the next chapter of my life,” Erik said. “The VSO has been a huge help in lovingly reminding me of this fact. They have been amazing at helping make this transition seamless.”
The Hamptons celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary in May, and it’s a milestone they don’t take lightly. Erik and Sherree hope their story inspires others to support VSO so it can continue to provide military families access to education and resources that help change lives—like it has theirs.
Please help support Lipscomb’s student-veterans by making a gift online.