Tech Talk: The Ever-Growing World of Tech

Written by Stephanie Gordon

It’s no secret that careers in technology are booming, and while careers in tech may seem like a less traditional route for Hillsdale graduates, they do exist. Husband and wife, Tanner Orion Wright, ’17, and Giannina Imperial Wright, ’18, are working in the tech field and giving thanks to Hillsdale for shaping them to be successful in their field of work. 

“It’s not very often that Hillsdale grads go into tech,” said Giannina. “Even though Hillsdale is a liberal arts school, you learn really critical skills like coming up with creative solutions to complex problems. In any industry, this is important, but especially in tech.”

Giannina, a psychology major, and Tanner, an economics and applied mathematics double major, currently reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Giannina is a research science manager at Fuel Cycle, and Tanner is an application developer at Investortools.

“We had a competition after graduation to see which one of us could find a job in Colorado or Utah first,” laughed Tanner. “Whoever found that first job, that’s where we were going to move. I was offered a job with Investortools in Colorado Springs, and we’ve been here ever since.”

After the move, Giannina found a market research analyst position with Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. “It was actually a perfect fit because I used a lot of the actual research experience and research methodologies I learned at Hillsdale as part of my psychology research,” she said. “But rather than doing psych research, I was doing market research.”

Giannina suggested current Hillsdale students keep an open mind about career paths. “In my case, I have a lot of research experience and thought I would go into psych research or grad school, but now I’m using my research experience in a completely different industry,” she added.

She now works remotely for Fuel Cycle, a leading market research platform. She felt called to work elsewhere partially for more flexibility. “I also felt called to put my learnings from my time at Focus into practice by moving into the for-profit secular work force,” Giannina said. “I really feel that God has moved me away from the Christian non-profit world partly so I could be challenged in using my faith-based experience at Focus to plant seeds and be a godly influence in a more secular environment.”

Tanner’s work with Investortools focuses on fixed income software and explained that Investortools’s clients are banks, investment firms, and insurance companies that buy and sell bonds. Those clients manage their bonds in Investortools’s systems, and Tanner works on the trading application feature. He said Investortools is really making a dent in the market.

Tanner reflected on the fact that there wasn’t a computer science minor when he was a student. He encouraged students interested in tech to consider the minor. “Show that you have some willingness to learn things in tech, and that’s a big step in the right direction,” he said. “Math is good if you want to go into development roles, but if you take a couple courses in computer science, that’s plenty to get you in the door at almost any tech company.” 

“And even on the less technical side, a lot of tech companies need copywriters, technical writers, marketers, sales people, and researchers,” added Giannina. “There’s a need to adapt really quickly in tech. Hillsdale graduates are very well positioned to do so because classes can be really hard, you have to learn things pretty fast, and you have to be flexible and come up with new applications.” 

Tanner and Giannina said they see tech as a stepping stone for their future. “It’s a very lucrative place to be; even if you don’t want to be in tech forever, it’s a good place to start,” Tanner said. “Because I want to go into politics one day, being able to work in tech now gives us a firmer foundation to do something like that in the future.”  

And speaking of the future, the couple plans to stay in sunny Colorado, hike plenty of trails, and start a family of their own.

“We’re excited to see what the future holds, in tech and elsewhere,” concluded Giannina and Tanner. “The lessons we learned at Hillsdale have gotten us where we are and will strengthen us for whatever comes next. We hope that current and future students understand how valuable a Hillsdale education is in preparing them for the future.”


Stephanie Gordon, a lifelong Hillsdale native, is the managing editor of the Student Stories Blog. She is married to chiropractor, Dr. Matt Gordon, and has three children – Eloise, Flora, and Jack. When she has a spare moment, she enjoys paleo baking, floating on Baw Beese Lake, and breaking a sweat at the gym.


Published in March 2023