Tania Tetlow

YOU NEED SKILL, hard work and self-belief to succeed. It’s difficult for the world to see your talents if you’re constantly making apologies for yourself so get used to being confident.” This brilliant quote by Tania Tetlow herself embodies who Tania Tetlow is and why she is the perfect person for this shero profile. Ms. Tetlow has helped the New Orleans community in so many different ways and she is now making New Orleans history as Loyola University’s first female president.

Born in New York but raised in New Orleans, Ms. Tetlow attended Sacred Heart, Holy Name and Ben Franklin High School. Her resume is impressive. A graduate of Tulane University and Harvard Law School, she took on domestic violence cases as a lawyer and later worked as a law professor and in university administration, where most recently she served as chief of staff to Tulane University’s president, Michael Fitts. Out of her many professional accomplishments, one of her proudest moments came from working to help reform the New Orleans Police Department Sex Crimes Unit. “It was a great opportunity to use everything I have learned and written about, and to accomplish something really important. We worked in partnership with the detectives so they could make people more comfortable about calling the police when something awful happens. They regained the trust of the public,” said Ms. Tetlow.

President Tetlow’s Loyola connections run deep. Her father was a Jesuit priest, who left the priesthood to marry her mother, and many family members, dating all the way back to her grandfather, have either taught at or attended Loyola University. She was raised with Jesuit values which she wants to maintain within the Loyola community. When asked what the Jesuit values mean to her, Ms. Tetlow stated, “It’s about honing every talent that you have in order to make the world a better place. It’s about questioning assumptions and working for justice. And it’s about loving to learn, loving knowledge for its own sake. Jesuits are kind of like Obi-Wan in Star Wars.”

As Loyola’s president, Ms. Tetlow wants to expand opportunity—a desire that connects to her grandfather, who in 1928 received a scholarship to Loyola’s football team. This gave him an opportunity that Ms. Tetlow believes many others should also receive. Thirty percent of Loyola’s students already are first generation college students.

Ms. Tetlow has taken another lesson away from her family. She drew inspiration from her younger sister who has learning disabilities and has managed an independent life despite great struggle. “Her experience taught me that being smart is a gift. It’s luck, but it doesn’t make you better than anyone else.”

In her life, Ms. Tetlow has accomplished so many amazing things, but becoming Loyola’s first female president has been the greatest honor of all. When asked how she felt about such an accomplishment, she simply responded with “It’s humbling.” This alone shows how modest and outstanding a person she is.

On her route to this impressive accomplishment have been several people who helped her along the way. One of them was Lindy Boggs, who was the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Louisiana. Ms. Tetlow looked up to her and hoped that one day Ms. Boggs would take her under her wing and teach her everything she needed to know. So when Ms. Boggs retired from office and started working at Tulane, Ms. Tetlow asked to be her student worker and got to work with and learn from her every day. Looking back, Ms. Tetlow said, “Her example, her guidance, her support, and her love made all the difference in my life.”

Tulane University’s current president, Mike Fitts, is another person who helped Ms. Tetlow along the way. “He has been an incredible teacher of the whole range of what it means to be a university president,” said Ms. Tetlow. In fact, he is the one who helped her believe and realize that she was ready to become Loyola’s president.

President Fitts and former Congresswoman Boggs, along with Ms. Tetlow’s loving and supportive family, have helped her accomplish everything that she has. On her route to success she has learned this very valuable lesson: “It matters to ask people to help you. You’re not bothering people by asking so don’t be afraid. At some point you learn that people want you to succeed and aren’t laughing at you.”

Ms. Tetlow started her job on August 13th. She enjoys engaging with students and wants to keep moving Loyola into the future. She envisions a vibrant community that can “make college affordable for everyone, with the highest quality teaching, research and student support.”

Tania Tetlow is a true shero! She shows grace in her work and persistence in the way she has achieved all of her accomplishments. Moreover, Ms. Tetlow demonstrates brilliance in all of her thoughts, while staying humble about her accolades. New Orleans is grateful for her and is hopeful for what lies ahead under her leadership.

WHAT I DO WHEN I’M FEELING DOWN AND DISCOURAGED?

“My six-year-old daughter, Lucy, turns on ‘Uptown Funk’ and we have a dance party.”

WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN WHEN I WAS 13?

“Hang in there and get past that feeling of self-consciousness and worry, and just be yourself.”