The power of ‘yes’
by Megan Krippel (B.B.A. ’21)
Houston-native Kristin Gawlik (B.B.A. ’96, M.B.A. ’98) always knew she wanted to work in business.
After working in her mom’s actuarial firm as a teenager and later as an intern after her first year at St. Mary’s University, Gawlik was hooked on numbers. This led her to study accounting at the St. Mary’s Greehey School of Business.
During Gawlik’s senior year audit class, she had an epiphany — she didn’t want to be a traditional accountant.
“That was a pivotal moment for me: to realize I didn’t want to go into strictly accounting,” she said. “I didn’t want to go down the path that most accounting majors do.”
Instead of letting the realization defeat her, Gawlik jumped into action. After graduation, she found a job with an insurance company and returned to St. Mary’s to earn her Master of Business Administration. Gawlik began working at Kelly Air Force Base as a logistician during her graduate studies.
Here, she was introduced to the world of finance.
As Gawlik tells it, one day her branch chief came over and said, “Hey, the person doing my financials and all the financials for the branch has left. I looked at your résumé, and you’re almost finished with your MBA in finance. You have an accounting degree. Do you want to do this?”
Nervously, Gawlik agreed. Suddenly, she was standing in front of colonels and generals, briefing them on the financial status of their division. She happened to be at the right place at the right time, and out of thousands of people working at the base, her branch chief recognized her skills.
“Don’t be scared to take those opportunities. You can be scared but still go out and do it.”
— Kristin Gawlik (B.B.A. ’96, M.B.A. ’98)
As the base was getting ready to close its doors in the early 2000s, the head of operations at Lockheed Martin reached out to Gawlik after hearing about her from a former coworker. Gawlik began working as an accounting supervisor for Lockheed Martin, kicking off her career in government contracting.
After a few years, Gawlik was offered a new position with the company, but there was a catch — it was in South Carolina. After careful consideration and support from her then fiancé (now husband), Gawlik once again said yes.
The decision to move out of Texas kick-started a 20-year career journey through five states. Now, back in Texas as the CFO of Qnnect and Quantic Electronics, Gawlik is happy that she accepted the finance position at Kelly and every other “yes” along the way.
“Don’t be scared to take those opportunities,” said Gawlik, who lives in New Braunfels. “You can be scared but still go out and do it. Take the opportunity. There’s not a lot you can’t come back from.”
As Gawlik’s career skyrocketed, her life’s mission remained the same — to ensure that she was improving people’s lives and impacting others for good.
Her sense of service has led her to make significant contributions and donate her time and philanthropy to St. Mary’s and the Greehey School. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Greehey School Advisory Council of Executives, is a mentor for current business students, has been a speaker at business school events and was the Spring 2025 University Commencement speaker. Her mother-in-law, Joann Gawlik, M.Ed., is an Adjunct Professor of Education at St. Mary’s.
One person who has recognized Gawlik’s success is Mark Persellin, Ph.D., the Ray and Dorothy Berend Endowed Professor of Accounting.
“Kristin represents what we at St. Mary’s hope all our students achieve,” Persellin said. “Professional success combined with an enormous interest and capacity to give back to St. Mary’s, so future alumni can achieve such successes.”
Whether through a company’s products or through direct mentorship, Gawlik ensured that her vocation remained at the forefront of her life.
“I’ve had a lot of great mentors over the years who have helped me get opportunities or offered me opportunities, and I want to do that for other people,” Gawlik said. “That comes directly from St. Mary’s — that sense of service and reaching out to the community.”
