Meet Preeti Tanwar of HiEd SuccessTeam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Preeti Tanwar.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I summarize my last 18 years journey as follows: From questioning “who I am” to I taking pride in “who I have become”…. From being “no one” to becoming a First Indian woman to get South Carolina “Educator of the year” award and prestigious “Most Valuable Professional” award and numerous employee recognition. From being a “dependent housewife” to becoming an “independent career coach and IT Professional,” impacting lives by mentoring, training and providing IT job opportunities to career changers/college youth, and turning them into IT professionals. From hesitating to speak in public to becoming an “influential Speaker/Mentor” From always doubting my talents to applying a “Can Do” attitude From a “simple next door girl” to a “Strong & Courageous” CEO of a firm which goes above & beyond to equate the clients success to its own. From always seeing the glass “half empty” to glass “half full.”

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Struggles that I have faced and continued to some extent: Struggle with mistrust and lack of respect towards women leaders. · Reluctance to promote and recognize competent and talented minority women as leaders · Struggle to convince established Institutions/Companies to trust and employ small growing organizations like mine and give them an opportunity to blossom. Struggle to keep the work-life balance and maintain that sanity. 🙂 Struggle to keep proving that I am a WOMAN who is not born to fit in, but to stand out in everything I do!

Today, people see me as Bold & Beautiful and compare me to a Superwoman, but there is a dark side of the story which many aren’t aware of… Apologies, It’s long but I feel a need to share as I see more youngsters like me and I have a message for them…. Begin with “Loving YOURSELF & TRUSTING yourself”…and see the change that it can bring to you and the world around you. Let me walk you through that story… A simple girl next door, tall, dark-skinned, academically inclined, dreaming of a successful professional career and full of hopes for a happy home life. Growing up in a middle-class Indian family, she did not have to struggle for day-to-day needs. Yet, what was sorely lacking was emotional support and encouragement, damaging and lowering her self-esteem.

As expected by society and peers, she evaluated herself more on how others looked at her rather than what she was capable of – being too tall, too thin, too dark, too fearful of trying new things and of course that “Nerd” look of 1990’s. 🙂 Most times, she felt that she was not fitting in the typical Indian “Pretty Girl” standards. She successfully entered one of the most elite schools in India (Stephens College), but she was nervous due to her weak English, which was the preferred language to converse with teachers & classmates. She wanted to participate in the cultural activities of the college but her fears and shyness and inability to fit into the “cool looks” college stereotype, instilled more insecurity.

This, in turn, hindered the blossoming of her character which usually happens at that age. To make matters worse, the scars from her hormonal changes attracted unwanted attention and mockery from people around her. Believing her insecurity and lack of confidence stemmed from her visual imperfection, she went through experimental treatment to heal the scars. Unfortunately, it only made them worse and the downward emotional spiral continued. She received the good news of acceptance in Masters in Computer Application Program at the prestigious research Institute (IARI) and was the scholarship recipient.

Day one of MS program would have been the proudest moment for anyone but for her, it went in pure embarrassment as she hid her scarred face behind a scarf and continue to do so, for the entire first year of College. That single event took her two steps back. She lost trust in people as they would judge her only based on her looks and not by her nature or academic prowess. The outside pressure of “Kaun Shaadi Ke Liye Haan Karega” (who will marry a woman with such ugly scars) led her to depression and low self-esteem. Out of respect for her parents and traditional wisdom, she agreed to marry someone of her father’s choice without ever meeting him. Within 13 days of marriage she moved to US with her husband after finishing her MS. Moving to a new county, new culture, new life partner whom she was still familiarizing herself.

New lifestyle of talking to walls all day instead of the family members was overwhelming for her and added extended time to adjust to the new know-hows of personal and professional life. United States of America – Land of opportunities. She has put all her hopes on this land. Sadly, the 9-11 massacre happened right before she was to get married. More job offers started to disappear due to uncertainties. She had cleared the exams to become a scientist at a reputed Research Institute. She visited most IT companies in Atlanta and tried all contact referrals but new jobs were on hold due to 9-11. She opted to do an MS and to self-fund the tuition cost and worked non stop 11 hours some days at a fast food establishment in a strip mall. That’s when her REAL transformation started…

FROM a possibility of becoming a Scientist TO providing chicken samples at a Fast food joint – all dreams fell apart. FROM depending on her father and husband for every decision of taking care of the entire household on her own… FROM never driving in her entire life TO getting a driver license in one week. FROM being surrounded by family TO being alone. FROM highly emotional TO finally changing into a self-driven, self-dependent and decision maker FROM being embarrassed by her dark skin and imperfect looks TO being supported and encouraged by her American colleagues and friends. FROM being scared to speak English TO engaging and motivating various groups of people.

FROM never reading a book TO spending an hour a day to self-develop. FROM taking no risks TO building a network marketing business that instilled a fearless attitude to approach anyone and thusly discovering and learning about her own self.

FROM not allowing her to participate in cultural sessions TO taking the first step to speaking at conferences. FROM staying in a negative zone and realizing what she can’t change about my color & skin TO focusing on what she can change such as people’s perception of her. Taking the time to mentor/train others which, in turn, built her confidence. Taking the time to focus on sharpening her strengths, such as people skills and working through her weaknesses, such as communication skills. Taking the time to volunteer with Cancer patients and connecting with their pain has allowed her to be grateful for all she has and enjoy the present.

So to summarize the story, I see the same pattern with the youth today when I work one-on-one sessions with them. They develop the inferiority complex based on their assumptions or focus more on their weakness. I want to emphasize to today’s youth that, things started changing only when I started BELIEVING IN MYSELF and FOCUSED on my strengths to use them to accomplish my goals. Finding my passion for work and a way to impact other people lives, have been the key to this wonderful transformation. I still see the proverbial glass half empty at times but I am convinced that “there is some water in it 🙂 “and refocus myself to make it full …

HiEd SuccessTeam – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Tell us about your business/company: The HiEd SuccessTeam is a woman-owned IT firm that provides IT consulting services to Higher Education Institutions & EdTech companies. We work with Registrar, IT & IR folks in supporting either their reporting needs or the Student Information system and its integration to various systems. We also support Student Recruitment efforts and internship program for the fresh Grads and career changers. Why I do what I do? I have had a tough time in finding that FIRST opportunity to prove myself. Through my company, I train the youth with personality development sessions and make them workforce ready. I am passionate to help who want to help themselves.

So, I work with HigherEd IT Directors & CIOs that are open to giving an opportunity to HiEd SuccessTeam interns who work under my mentorship to become a HigherEd professional. This allows a win-win situation for Institutions (qualified applicants within their budgeted amount) & interns (get their first HigherEd career break). I was the first one in the entire family to do Masters from the US and struggled in the beginning to find the right program and for the process to apply. I realized that uneducated and uninformed students in developing countries are often misguided to apply for US MS programs. HiEd SuccessTeam helps students to connect the dots and connect them with a mentor and the Colleges to eliminate the extra time and money they spend in applying for US Institutions.

What do you do, what do you specialize in? Currently, I own & CEO of HiEd SuccessTeam. I leverage my technical degrees (Masters in Software Engineering from Kennesaw State University and a Masters in Computer Applications from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India) as well as my Postgraduate Certification in Higher Education Leadership to lead the Personality Development sessions for College Grads as well as my Team members from IT domain. What are you known for? With the honor of being the first Indian woman to receive the “Educator of the Year-Staff” award and gaining a track record of multiple Employee recognitions including the “Most Valued Professional” award, I am also known for my strong belief in self-development, integrity and my passion for empowering others so that they can become the best versions of themselves. What are you most proud of as a company? We developed Student Success Dashboards to track Student as well as Institution trends and progress.

Most students have the talent and the drive but lack direction. We are impacting student lives in connecting them with the right college & program or mentor. I take pride that all my team members and I believe in the same quality of customer service and going over & beyond for our clients in making their success our success. Such as we completely digitized the Account Receivables process at College and made it paperless with tracking abilities for students as well as for staff. We integrated Student Information Systems to Payroll systems, CRM to ease student experience with campus portal. What sets you apart from others? Many people establish goals. BUT it is the commitment that helps us reach those goals. I carry that “sincere and firm commitment” helps me continuously meet my goals. I strongly believe in the mantra: “You are what you do, not what you say you will do”. Another motto that I live by is that one can give results, not excuses – as one can’t give both.

What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
Good Luck: Ona Personal note, fortunate to get married to a supportive husband who is equally vested in my professional development. Feels Great to have an opportunity to come to the US as that changed my attitude towards life forever. Blessed to have a Girl and a Boy after waiting for 5 years to experience the motherhood.

On a professional note, Fortunate to be selected as one among 3 Interns out of 25000 students for a paid Internship at GE Power Systems, was my first IT career break. Blessed to have great mentors such as John Ward, Julie Cramer, Vicky Maloney, James Hudgins who played a significant role in my self-development.

Bad Luck: As they say, people come and go in our lives, Some hurt you and some will make you smile. Each one of them leaves something of theirs with us. I have had my share of learning lessons from each one of them. Those tough times has allowed me to face the world with much more strength than I ever had before.

Contact Info:

• Website: hiedsuccess.com
• Phone: 7708912157
• Email: info@hiedsuccess.com

Image Credit:
Shobhit Bala & Brijesh Darji

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