Employee Spotlight: Shannon Killingsworth

Shannon Killingsworth is the Training Specialist at PaperWise and has been with the company since July 2004

"As a child I always wanted to create things," said PaperWise Training Specialist, Shannon Killingsworth. "Most of the things I built as a kid were physical, but I feel like I do something similar now where I see all the components of the PaperWise system a customer needs in my mind, and then build that to make it a reality." Growing up, Killingsworth spent most of his free time outside riding ATV's and skateboarding with his brother. To increase the challenge of their recreation, the boys would build ramps then tear them apart to try and rebuild them bigger and better. This appreciation for building things carried on as Killingsworth entered high school; by his sixteenth birthday, he had built a custom truck with his father and brother.

Upon graduating from Republic High School in Republic, Missouri, Killingsworth went on to study architecture at Drury University. He anticipated learning about the engineering aspects of architecture. However, as he progressed, he realized the program offered at Drury focused more on visual design. This compelled Killingsworth to reconsider his major altogether. "Since I had always liked working with computers, I decided to switch schools and try that. Once I started, I realized how much I enjoyed working with computers and finished my degree in Computer Information Systems," explained Killingsworth.

While in school, he held various positions at St. John's Hospital, until he secured a position in the hospital IT department. In July 2004, Killingsworth joined the PaperWise team. At the beginning of his career with PaperWise, his responsibilities varied from support to projects to installations. As time progressed, he settled in a role as implementation specialist, managing installs for new customers and projects for existing customers. Recently Killingsworth's role has changed to Training Specialist. In this role, he is working to reinvent training for customers. Essentially, the idea is to provide a fully automated, online training course that PaperWise users can utilize at their own pace to gain information in any areas requiring supplementary training. In addition, Killingsworth will develop tests and labs that test user knowledge so they can ultimately obtain PaperWise User Certification.

Outside the office, Killingsworth spends time with his wife of 17 years, Amy, and his two daughters Taylor, 12 and Trinity, 8. His daughters have been involved in competitive cheer and gymnastics since they were 2 so time is spent at competitions throughout the year, but the family still makes time for their annual spring break vacation to Destin, Florida. As for extracurricular activities, Killingsworth says he has very similar interests now as he did when he was 12. "My interests have always revolved around building things and anything with a motor. I love everything to do with cars or motorcycles, and absolutely love to take things apart and build things," explained Killingsworth. Utilizing his hobbies, Killingsworth has shared his talent with the team at PaperWise by designing and building an arcade game for the work lounge, as well as the company's wine barrel car for an annual competition for a local non-profit organization.