Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is college bound!
The Mama June: Family Crisis star, who graduated from high school earlier this year, told Entertainment Tonight that her next move will be attending college at Regis University in Denver, Colorado, where she will study neonatal nursing.
“It’s a Top 3 nursing program in the world,” Alana’s sister and legal guardian Lauryn “Pumpkin” Shannon added.
Alana noted that she was not only accepted to the university, but received a $21,000 scholarship, as well.
Alana previously shared her plans to become a neonatal nurse with Teen Vogue in 2021. In addition to attending college, Alana said at the time that she wanted to purchase a car and buy her own home.
As for whether or not the reality TV cameras will join her at college, Alana and her family told fans they’ll have to wait and see, though Alana said she’s open to the idea.
“I mean, I’ve been on TV my whole life and I’ve kind of just basically accepted that whether I wanna go be a nurse or I wanna go be an accountant, whatever I wanna go be, that I will always be in the spotlight,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what I do, I will always probably be known as, ‘Oh my god, Honey Boo Boo [was] workin’ on my baby when he was in the NICU!’”
Given Alana’s very public life, it was only natural for her to share the milestone of graduating from high school with those who have kept up with the Thompson/Shannon family since Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
“ … I feel like a lot of people have seen Alana grow up,” Pumpkin chimed in. “So for us, letting everybody in the world be a part of Alana’s graduation was a very big deal to us.”
Alana said “a lot of people wanted to see” her receive her diploma, as it was something she worked hard to earn.
“I didn’t graduate with honors, but I did graduate with a 3.0 [grade point average],” she said, noting that she also received recognition for a few programs she was involved with in school, including a “nursing group.”
Alana explained that the two extra cords she wore at her graduation– one pink and one lime green– represented her favorite color and her older sister Anna Cardwell, who is currently battling Stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, a rare cancer that had already spread to Anna’s liver, kidney and lung by the time it was discovered in January.
As for her on-campus plans at Regis, Alana said she definitely won’t be joining a sorority.
“I don’t want to be part of a sorority because, me personally–- and I don’t need nobody hounding me when I say this-– but me personally, I feel like all sorority girls are stuck up,” she said. “I’m just gonna say that. I feel like they’re stuck up and it’s just not for me. I’m sorry. I’m not the bougie, like, ‘I got my Chanel bag’– like, I’m not that kind of girl.
“I’m there to do my studies and graduate in 2029 and go on,” she continued.
You can watch Alana’s full interview with ET below!
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(Photos: Instagram; WE tv)
16 Responses
no one studies neonatal nursing as undergrad- you get a degree in nursing and then hope you can get hired into a NICU as a new grad- pretty competitive.
also, its funny about the sorority thing- not a problem since Regis doesn’t even have them!
Although I don’t like her, at all and I do doubt she’s going to finish anything… I do hope she does well. I also hope a dose of ACTUAL reality hits her early on, so she can have time to navigate that because it’s going to be wild. Her being “open to filming” tells me she’s not as serious about really moving on in life, doing something worthwhile with her life, or growing as a person. I do hope she proves me wrong though.
It would be great if she ventured far, far, far away from her family and the person she is today (and the opinions she has). I can understand why she might think sorority girls are stuck up, but that statement coming from her just shows how out of touch she is with actual reality. Hopefully she’ll grow and come to regret the poor choices she’s made the last…forever. IF she decides once she starts that filming anything and continuing on this narcissistic path of “look at me” will only hinder her growth, that would be a wise decision.
No one should let her anywhere near a nursing program, let alone babies in a NICU. Ffs.
Provided she does well enough in all of the prerequisite classes to enroll in the nursing program, she’ll be the girl who Never. Stops. Whining.
“Do you know how much this manicure cost? I wash my hands, it don’t matter that they’re acrylics.”
“I don’t LIKE navy blue, it’s boring.”
“I don’t care what they say, I’m gonna wear crocs and they can just sent me home if it’s that big of a deal.” [gets sent home]
And literally every unit/clinical rotation that isn’t maternity/neonatal/pediatrics is going to start with her going on about how it’s so STUPID and NOT FAIR and what could she possibly get out of the emergency room, adult inpatient, mental health, surgical, hospice, or (non-neonatal) ICU. Because BABIES.
Speaking of BABIES, she’ll get knocked up the quarter she was on thin ice anyways and forever tell about how she was almost a nurse but decided to give it up to be a mom. And then turn around to screech at whichever kid is climbing the outside of the trailer.
Good for her but how did she get the scholarship with a 3.0 gpa?
There are scholarships that are focused on specific areas and not overall GPA – it could be that she did better in the sciences than the humanities. Or for nursing – the article states she was involved in student nursing groups.
I have taught several students who were taking pre-nursing classes through our vocational programs {and earn LPN status when they graduate) whose GPA was not in the A range but still earned significant scholarships to nursing programs.
And students who love writing and literature but not STEM, who also got scholarships based on their strengths. Not all scholarships require a 4.0 GPA.
There are scholarships based on volunteerism, activism, 4-H, etc. that want a solid academic record, but consider other facets for the award.
While I have never taught reality actors, I have taught young women like Alana who are from disadvantaged, toxic backgrounds and can be messy because of this (and from being a teen who still has not developed impulse control or life experience).
They are still amazing in so many ways that we do not get to see on screen – and Alana has so much to be proud of for this achievement.
This girl is insufferable. The best thing that could happen to her is for the show to get cancelled, the camera to leave her face, and for her to live a normal life like the rest of us peasants.
I used to like this family and really root for them, until I watched them scam people on TikTok night after night while they ignore their children.
The rotten apple didn’t fall too car from the rotten tree. Get that shit eating grin off your face Alana and realize that nursing is a job that requires you to be of SERVICE to others. Not sure you’re up to that, but I’d love to see you surprise us.
“and I don’t need nobody hounding me when I say this”
$21,000 scholarship
Something about this doesn’t seem right.
“I’m not a bougie” and then proceeds to bash people working at a fast food joint.
I hope she goes to college and then apologize to all the people she insulted while believing she was something special just because she was in a TV show about yt ?️
I really hope she doesn’t end up like her mother
This will probably last as long as Leah’s nursing career?
It’s nice to see a reality tv character with a plan for the the future – best of luck to her. Her recent social media outbursts were not OK, but she’s young and is stuck with June for a mother so she’s lacked role models. At least she’s making some good choices and hopefully she’ll drop that loser pedo boyfriend when she moves to Denver.
@lyinhustlah ~ just saw in the ‘weekend link-a-palooza’ post that (unfortunately) loserpedodralin is moving to colorado w/her. ???
Good for her. Hopefully she sticks with it.
I’m sure she could and should find professional sororities that will be beneficial for her.