Hampton University Alumnus Lovelace Lee III Implores the Incoming HBCU Freshman Class to Protect Their Mental Health

Unchecked Depression Can Derail College Careers and Lives

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, June 4, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “This PSA was 50 years in the making,” says Hampton University alumnus Lovelace Lee III, 69, of Robert Lucy Creative. His PSA titled DON’T DO WHAT I DID was created because Lee dropped out of Hampton University (then known as Hampton Institute) in 1974, after a bout with depression. “I actually wrote the PSA in 2008, after thinking about it for many years. I finalized it in 2024,” Lee says. He admits he didn’t find the courage to produce the content until this year. “This is still very difficult for me.” He made the PSA out of concern, not because anyone hired him to do the work.

“I had depression for the first time in 1974. I allowed guilt and pride to complicate the situation and didn’t tell anyone or seek help.” Lee adds he wasn’t homesick or using drugs or alcohol at the time. “Young people need to protect their mental health,” he says. His grades slipped, and he was asked to sit out a semester at a junior college and bring his grades up before returning to Hampton. His mother never forgave him, so he opted to join the Army instead. Lee’s mother died in 2019, never knowing the truth. “Mom was so harsh that I never felt comfortable sharing the truth with her. I truly wish I had, because I think of it often.”

Why is this important? He knew that we learn a lot from the mistakes of others and felt it was finally time to share his experience with the next generation. “Trust me, I’d rather be one of those shining examples who graduated from Hampton,” Lee admits. “But that wasn’t to be. I hope to reach a handful of the incoming HBCU Freshman Class with my message.” The process was a learning experience for him, too. He learned that writing a sensitive PSA is much different than being in front of the camera and delivering the words. “It took eight takes as I continued to tear up. This is very real for me.”

“I don’t want another HBCU freshman to suffer as I did,” he says. “It was much too painful.”
He felt it was urgent to share this information because, according to research, suicide is the #2 cause of death for college students. Sometimes, depressed people can become suicidal. After Hampton, Lee served 3½ years honorably in the Army and then spent 32 years in Hollywood. He learned marketing, film production, screenwriting, and business management. Lee is a screenwriter, producer, director, and business strategist who managed both an advertising agency and a music marketing firm. He returned to college and earned a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. The Chicagoan works as a Marketing and Culture Specialist and helps organizations grow and solve problems using business and culture strategies.

Lee hopes the incoming HBCU freshman class will actively protect their mental health. He mailed a letter to the president of every HBCU in America, with a copy of the press release about his PSA. “Lovelace’s DON’T DO WHAT I DID PSA deeply moved me. Depression is severe and unchecked; it can sometimes lead to suicide,” says QPR Master Trainer Alice Jordan, MEd, a mental health expert. “The admonition for students to protect their mental health is key,” she says. For a consultation or to schedule suicide prevention, intervention, postvention training, or to interview Jordan, contact her at jordana@pfw.edu. Here’s the link to the PSA on YouTube: http://youtube.com/shorts/Z9xzZzt8-rg?si=Ami1mqf5lxVqF

Lee last visited Hampton in 1978, after riding with friend Tom Gorski from Chicago to Washington, D.C. The two had just completed a month-long job assignment. “I walked around the campus teary-eyed, missing friends and feeling utterly defeated. I imagined what I’d missed and stayed for about two hours. It was a real gut punch,” he says. “I left Hampton again, in tears.”

For his next challenge, Lee seeks a world-renowned fashion designer to partner with him and the iconic actress-producer Viola Davis to help a tiny non-profit battle to improve women’s health globally.

Lovelace Lee III
Robert Lucy Creative
+1 310-743-2855
info4rlcstudios@gmail.com
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DON'T DO WHAT I DID PSA

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