Shawnee Huckstep, BA '94

CEO/President, TechWise
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Huckstep and her husband, Arran, BA '95, founded TechWise in 1994 as an information technology training company. A decade later, they transitioned the company to a government contractor that now provides technical and professional services to government and commercial clients, with locations in seven states.

"My field is military training and logistics. I have found success in being a direct communicator, and you'd be surprised at how unusual that is even in the military environment. I love an interactive meeting with lots of opinions and respectful disagreement. I thrive as a facilitator, in situations where I can ask questions of my team, get them really thinking, and watch the creativity flow from the team. 

"I also try to be vulnerable with my staff. I am very honest about my weaknesses and struggles and enlist their help. Most people want to be trusted, they want to be valuable, and they want to be appreciated. I try very hard to give that to my staff, and they in turn give me the support I need to lead a successful business. "I learned to appreciate diversity during my time at Baylor. My heart was always in business, but I let my dad talk me into majoring in computer science. I was kind of a misfit in computer science, but I enjoyed analyzing the problems and working together with others to come up with possible solutions. I began to appreciate ways that I was different and respect others who were different from me. I saw that our different experiences are what makes us unique and able to bring new perspective to problems. I began to appreciate surrounding myself with smart people and leveraging the group's talent to solve problems."