A Tribute to Wyona Freysteinson

Contributor – Alison Williams, MSN, RN
Teachers of Excellence

There are professors who teach from behind a podium, and then there are professors who quietly step into your life when you need them most. Dr. Wyona Freysteinson was one of those rare people.

Many of us simply called her Dr. F.

She had an ability to make every student feel seen. She listened without judgment and celebrated others’ successes as though they were her own. Looking back, I realize she wasn’t simply teaching us to be scholars. She was teaching us how to care for people.

Dr. Freysteinson had a heart unlike any other for investing in the next generation of nurse scholars. She saw potential in people long before they saw it in themselves and freely gave her time, offering the encouragement that helped us succeed. Her legacy will be found not only in the scholarship she produced but also in the scholars she mentored and believed in.

Like many of her students, I have countless memories of her encouragement. One, however, has stayed with me more than any other.

During a dark period of my life, while navigating a domestic violence crisis, Dr. Freysteinson reached out to me personally. She shared her personal phone number and told me that she had once been in a similar situation herself. Then she said something I will never forget: “I’m always available.”

In that moment, she wasn’t simply my professor. She was a survivor extending hope to another survivor. She didn’t offer empty reassurance. She offered her presence. She didn’t see me as a student who needed to stay on track academically. She saw me as a human being who needed compassion.

Looking back, I realize that I did not first learn trauma-informed care from a textbook. I learned it from Dr. Freysteinson.

Long before I began studying trauma-informed approaches for survivors of domestic violence, she showed me what trauma-informed care should look like. She created a sense of safety. She built trust. She empowered rather than judged. She understood that healing often begins when someone simply says, “You don’t have to go through this alone.”

As I reflect on the direction my own scholarship has taken, I realize it has been shaped not only by the questions I ask, but by the people who have stepped in. Dr. Freysteinson’s compassion and willingness to meet people where they were became more than acts of kindness. They became an example of the kind of scholar I hope to become.

In academia, we often celebrate publications, presentations, and grants. Those achievements matter, but they are not what I think of when I remember Dr. Freysteinson. I remember a woman who believed in people before they believed in themselves. I remember a mentor who gave generously of her time because she genuinely wanted others to succeed.

If my work contributes in any meaningful way to trauma-informed nursing care, it will be because someone first showed me what that care looked like. Dr. Freysteinson didn’t simply teach nursing or mentor scholars; she lived the compassion she so often encouraged in others. Her legacy is reflected not only in the lives she touched, but in the nurses and scholars who will carry that compassion forward.

In a world where you can be anything, be like Dr. F.

About Alison Williams

Alison Williams, MSN, RN, is a PhD student in Nursing at Texas Woman’s University. Her scholarship focuses on trauma-informed care, holistic approaches to healing, and improving care for survivors of interpersonal violence. She is passionate about mentoring future nurse scholars and translating nursing knowledge into evidence-based practice.