Latasha L.
Hampton also known as Frat Elaborate has been a proud member of Alpha Lambda
Zeta Fraternity, Inc since April 21, 2007.
Elaborate was born into the most humble of conditions to say the least.
Elaborate is the baby of eight kids born to her mother. She was primarily
raised in a single parent household on the south side of Chicago, Illinois.
Throughout her life she had many ups and downs that have shaped and molded
her into the professional woman she is today. Elaborate was ONCE a headstrong
teenager who lived on the dangerous side of life. At the age of 14 her poor
choices in life led her to become a high school dropout, homeless teenager,
and a gangbanger.
Two years of living on the streets of Chicago taught Elaborate the life
long lesson that ultimately people control their own destiny regardless
of where they start out in life. At 16 years old Elaborate began to right
all the wrongs in her life. She returned home and returned to school, eventually
graduating 2nd in her High School class and getting accepted to the University
of Iowa. She left the gang life behind and began working as a youth counselor
with at risk teenagers while attending college. In addition she volunteered
her time at a group home teaching life skills to teenagers from broken homes.
She was an active member of the Black Student Union at the University of
Iowa and fought hard to try and make positive changes for the minority students on campus.
Elaborate served as a patrol officer with the department for approximately four years before she applied for a juvenile detective position. After a lengthy testing process Elaborate was selected for the juvenile detective position and assigned to Tempe High School as the School Resource Officer (SRO). Elaborate's duties include enforcing the law, maintaining safety and most importantly bridging the gap between the community and police by teaching at a minimum 180 Law-Related education classes on campus.
Elaborate goes above and beyond her normal duties and is dedicated to improving the lives of the community and the students she serves at the High School. For two years Elaborate volunteered as the junior varsity girls basketball coach at the High School. Elaborate dedicated countless hours to ensuring the girls she served learned valuable life lessons that would ensure them success as women later in life. Showing leadership skills needed to succeed, instilling in them the value of hard work, importance of dedication and perseverance and the significance of teamwork.
Her professionalism and dedication to improving the lives of others has led her to be recognized by the Arizona’s Black Law Enforcement Association (A.B.L.E.) as the 2006 Officer of the Year.
Elaborate is not ashamed of the fact that she is a gay black woman. She is a part of the Gay Straight Alliance with the City of Tempe. She has been featured on the cover of ECHO magazine, a leading gay magazine in Arizona. She has also been a part of the City of Tempe (police Department) recruiting unit assisting with recruiting at AZ gay pride events and features in recruitment ads that appeared in several national gay magazines.
Outside of her job Elaborate has volunteered her time and effort to improving the gay community as a whole. She volunteers as a mentor with the 1N10 gay youth organization. Elaborate while representing the ALZ Phoenix Colony, assisted the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) with running a booth at the Rainbow festival in Arizona. Elaborate located volunteers in the AZ area who help her raise awareness about the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy used in the armed services. The event was a success and over 800 people signed a petition to congress to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
Elaborate's work to improve and change our world continues. She is an inspiration to all who meet her.
ARCHIVED FRAT HIGHLIGHTS
Frat
Hightlight
L. Hampton,
Frat Elaborate
Maricopa, AZ
Member
Since Spring 2007
