SLU First Lady, Misty Wainwright

Misty Wainwright

Southeastern Louisiana University’s First Lady

For the first time in a very long time, the Southeastern Louisiana University Family has a First Lady. Misty Wainwright officially joined the Family in June when her husband William was chosen as the university’s 15th president. At the time, it had been 15 years since a First Lady graced the Hammond campus and called it home.

“When we made the decision to seek the presidency, it was a family decision that we all made together,” said the Avoyelles Parish native who moved to the Northshore 20 years ago. “This isn’t a job for us; it’s full-time dedication to Southeastern and the communities it serves. And, we couldn’t love it more.”

When asked what the role of First Lady entails, Misty smiles, saying that’s something she and Southeastern are still determining day by day.

“When I attend events, people sometimes aren’t sure what to do with me,” she laughs. “Do I get introduced? Do I sit at the front? Do I say something? Let’s just say we’re figuring it out together.”

As the lead ambassador for Southeastern, she coordinates “moments in time” that embrace the myriad populations that make up the Southeastern Family: students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community supporters alike.

“When you introduce two people at a function, for example, you can possibly be setting the trajectory for a future interaction, conversation, or donation that can change the life of a student,” she says. “That’s so powerful and so important. It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. I take it to heart.”

Not surprising for a nationally board-certified licensed professional counselor who is now able to channel her professional expertise into helping meet the needs of students. Misty earned her undergraduate degree in psychology at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. Classes for her master’s degree in student services and counseling in higher education were held in the same building as those for the adult and continuing education program, in which William happened to be enrolled. The rest, as they say, is history. Zachary was born in 2001, and Ella-Grace followed in 2005. The Northshore became home to the family of four while William led Northshore Technical and Community College and Misty led a demanding clinical practice.

Most recently, Misty was appointed in January to the State Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board, which collectively reviews pregnancy-related deaths in Louisiana and makes recommendations on what can be done to prevent such deaths in the future. She also recently participated in the National Day of Maternal Mental Health Advocacy by meeting with Sens. Cassidy and Kennedy’s offices to discuss federal funding for maternal mental health initiatives in the coming fiscal year.

Misty’s 25 years of professional practice also lend themselves well to student-centric endeavors on campus such as fine-tuning the SLU Food Pantry’s services for students, assisting with speaker panels to address the vital need for work-life balance after graduation, and providing advice, when requested, for the Student Counseling Center.

“When I first started meeting with students, coaches, faculty, and staff members, alumni and friends of Southeastern out in the business community, even before William was appointed, a topic that was consistently shared was a concern for food insecurity among students,” she said.

Once on campus, she didn’t waste time convening a committee that started by defining the food pantry's purpose as a supplement to campus food options and not as a student grocery store. This brought about new food-type donation requests and new practices including standard record-keeping and expanded hours of operation, which were also called for by the committee.

Misty points to a wonderful partnership with campus food services provider Aramark that allows the pantry to also provide some student “card swipes” for meals on campus.

“While it’s great to give out boxes of mac-n-cheese, we realize it’s even better to provide nutritious meals,” she said. “We hope to encourage more monetary donations from the community so we can purchase more hot meals rather than just using that money to buy more boxes of mac-n-cheese. Of course, we’ll still gladly accept those boxes and other food items, too.”

Serving as a guest lecturer for senior nursing students is another way she has been able to fold her profession into her role as First Lady. “Women’s Perinatal Mental Health” was the topic she presented to students during their obstetrics rotations.

“I told them that when they’re out in the clinical setting and everyone is leaning toward a certain diagnosis, I want them to be that one person who says, ‘I heard a lecture once that makes me think this might be something different.’ It’s always good to approach things with different perspectives. That’s how you continue to learn and grow.”

How does Southeastern’s First Lady intend to keep learning and growing herself?

“With every interaction I have with our students, they impress me more and more,” she says, beaming. “I continue to be amazed by what they’re capable of accomplishing. I look forward to seeing what they’ll achieve next.”

For example, when she approached Student Government Association (SGA) members with the idea for a First Lady’s Tree Lighting Ceremony last fall, she says they took the idea and ran with it. They created an entire event with ice skating and a build-a-Roomie (SLU’s Lion mascot) experience for students to parallel the event that catered to the community and also wove into the university’s Presidential Investiture celebration.

“It was wonderful to see groups of students gathered throughout the Union enjoying the event and more importantly enjoying each other,” she said. “It was exactly what you’d want a family gathering to be.”

A favorite photo from that event was taken after a few seconds’ delay in the official lighting of the tree. “There was a slight moment of panic when it didn’t immediately light,” she says, grinning. “And then when it did, you can see the pure joy (and relief) captured in that photo!”

For those who didn’t make it to last year’s event, Misty assures everyone that the First Lady’s Tree Lighting Ceremony will be back for this year’s holiday season with a 2nd annual iteration.

She’s also already at work helping with preparations for Southeastern’s Centennial in 2025. “We want to build upon the fantastic array of events and activities that SLU hosts annually and make them even bigger and better in honor of the university’s 100-year legacy,” says the First Lady who knows a thing or two about campus events, having served as SGA president herself when she was at Northwestern.

“Ever since William was named president, I cannot tell you how many people in St. Tammany have told me that they graduated from Southeastern or that their children got their degrees here,” she said. “But they haven’t been back to campus since. We want to change that. Our hope is that the Centennial will provide everyone with an opportunity to come home to Southeastern so they can share in the pride that Southeastern so rightly instills in its alumni and supporters.”

As plans for that celebration ramp up, Misty says she feels right at home in Hammond. She says she realizes she still has a lot to learn, but that she’s loving every minute of it.

Some of the things she’s learned so far have been unexpected. For example, she invited the SLU Lab School kindergarten class to come read Christmas stories with her. The day the students were set to arrive she turned on some Kids Bop-type Christmas Music to play in the President’s Residence.

“It wasn’t until our neighbor Patsy Causey walked over that I found out there are speakers on the exterior of the residence,” she said. “Now I can’t wait for nice weather so we can host events on the grounds at President’s Residence, too.”

Also, when she first heard about there once having been a live lion mascot that stayed on campus, she thought people were telling her a tall tale.

“But I’ve now actually met several former students who helped transport the lion back and forth from the Audubon Zoo to its part-time home on campus,” Misty said with a chuckle. “There really was a live Roomie on campus!”

Laws for permanent mascots living on campus now only allow those that were grandfathered in years ago, so there won’t be any live lions making the move to Hammond.

“However, we do fully intend to bring alumni and friends of the university back to campus,” she said. “Whether you come back for a Centennial event, for a football game, as a guest lecturer, for the job fair, to mentor a student or any other way, we want to get everyone to come home to Southeastern.”

Southeastern First Lady Misty Wainwright is ready to welcome you home.