Gregory Alston

I decided that I wanted to study Public Policy Leadership during my senior year of high school. A mentor of mine told me about the Lott Leadership Institute and encouraged me to apply. I looked into the program and eventually decided to apply, because I wanted to learn about policy making and leadership. I was also interested in building professional connections and relationships, and I knew that the Trent Lott Leadership Institute was very focused on bringing leaders and speakers regularly to campus to speak and personally meet with the students. I also wanted to be in a department where I would gain hands on skills training that would allow me to be competitive person in the professional world. The Lott Leadership Institute encompasses all of these different qualities while providing a valuable degree with a personal touch that prepares students to go out and be leaders.

My undergraduate experience at Ole Miss was one that I will never forget and will always treasure. Ole Miss holds a very special place in my heart, and the love for our university and the state of Mississippi encouraged me to get involved and make a difference on campus. Meeting my wife at Ole Miss, Ann Ferrell, was by far the main highlight of my undergraduate experience. She is such a supportive person, and she has been there with me through every leadership role that I have had since we met on campus.   

When I think about all of the things that I cherish from my undergraduate experience, the service opportunities that God has blessed me with are at the forefront. Service to the student body and to Ole Miss was very important to me. My first leadership role at Ole Miss started as an Associated Student Body (“ASB”) Senator representing the Stockard dorm. This would turn into me serving another year on the ASB senate, a member of the first African American female ASB President’s cabinet, and ultimately Associated Student Body President from 2013-2014. Serving as ASB President was a life-altering experience that I will never forget. This experience was the best leadership training that I have ever received, because it involved working with a diverse group of people with different opinions and finding solutions during challenging situations. Many of my dearest friends who I met at the Lott Leadership Institute would end of running my ASB campaign, including Megan Turcotte Frame who was my campaign manager. The friendships and the relationships that the students are able to build at the Institute with fellow students, professors, and world class leaders is remarkable.

Senator Trent Lott personally played a major role in the formation of my leadership style and qualities. When I ran for ASB President, Senator Lott served as a mentor to me. When you have a leader like Senator Lott who has served at the highest levels of our nation’s government and who is able to provide his own personal experience in leadership, it really is something truly special to have that personal perspective from that level of leadership who cares so deeply about the Institute and the students.

I cannot talk about service without also mentioning the service opportunities that the Lott Leadership Institute is able to provide. The first time I ever flew on a airplane was when I flew to South Africa with fellow public policy students my sophomore year to assist with building a garden at an AIDS orphanage. The Lott Leadership Institute places policy, leadership, and service training on a world class stage.  There is a vast array of volunteer opportunities that the Institute can provide.

Lastly, on this question, during my freshman year, I was able to get a volunteer job on Alan Nunnelee’s campaign for United States Congress. While the Lott Leadership Institute does not advocate for serving on one particular campaign over another, the Institute values and encourages involvement and service. For me, political campaigns are why I have been able to hold different positions with government leaders.  In 2011, I had the opportunity to meet my now boss, Attorney General Lynn Fitch. She hired me to work on her first campaign for State Treasurer. This turned into being re-hired by her in 2015 when she ran for re-election for State Treasurer, and ultimately to being hired by her at the Attorney General’s Office. Like Senator Lott, she was so supportive of me during my time at Ole Miss as ASB President and President of the Law School Student Body.   

After graduation, I enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law where I again was committed to serving the student body. I was elected Senator, then Treasurer, and then ultimately President of the Law School Student Body from 2016-17.

After graduating from law school, I was hired in Senator Thad Cochran’s north Mississippi office in Oxford where I had interned during law school. At the time, Senator Cochran’s longtime field representative was retiring, and after law school, I was offered that position. After passing the Mississippi Bar, I was named General Counsel for the Office of Senator Thad Cochran. I still continued my role as Field Representative, but I was able to expand my portfolio to include legal matters within the office. In this position, I was able to represent the Senator at meetings and events in the North Mississippi region, but I also provided legal advice on different issues within the Senator’s office. When Senator Cochran retired, I continued to serve in the same position as the North Mississippi Field Representative and General Counsel to U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

In 2019, Lynn Fitch ran for Attorney General of the State of Mississippi. When she was elected, she became the first-ever woman Attorney General of the State. She hired me to come work at the Attorney General’s Office in Jackson when she took office, and I have been at the Attorney General’s Office ever since. I lead the legislative policy team at the Attorney General’s Office, where I play an instrumental role in the Attorney General’s legislative agenda. During my time as a student in the Trent Lott Leadership Institute, we learned how to draft sound policy not only for legislation but also regulatory policy. I am excited to be able to come to work each day to put the skills I learned into practice at the Lott Leadership Institute, and actually draft and work with the legislature on passing meaningful legislation for the Attorney General and the State of Mississippi. Under General Fitch’s leadership, we have been able to craft and enact policy with the support of the legislature to strengthen laws on Mississippi’s fight against human trafficking, child exploitation, and other criminal activity in the state and policy that makes Mississippi a better place to have children and to raise a family. Putting the skills that I learned at Ole Miss into practice is very rewarding.

To wrap up, career goals of mine include continuing to find ways to serve the State of Mississippi. It is so important for Mississippi to have strong leadership. Service and leadership to me go hand in hand. I have been fortunate to have been able to continue my service not only to Ole Miss but to my city. Whether it is through serving the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi, the Mississippi Children’s Museum, or Ole Miss, service and leadership is a passion of mine, and I strive to continue to find ways to better serve our State.