When she is dealing with a computerphobe, Sue Wetherbee has been known to advise the client to “give that computer a slap.”

“Did it hit back?” she’ll ask. “Well, there you go. Nothing to be afraid of.”

Ms. Wetherbee has been smoothing the way between information systems and UT Southwestern computer users with a combination of humor, knowledge, and patience for 35 years.

In 1986, Ms. Wetherbee took a chance, moving from Corpus Christi, Texas, where she had lived most of her life, to Dallas in search of job opportunities. She initially stayed with her brother, whose girlfriend at the time knew of a receptionist’s opening in the IR Department at UT Southwestern. Although her brother and the woman stopped dating, the job was a perfect employment match for Ms. Wetherbee. Even better, her brother’s ex turned into her best friend, and the job became her life’s work.

Her favorite thing about her job is being able to show a client a pathway that can cut work time.

When Ms. Wetherbee was a software trainer, she was proud of her ability to work with everyone in the room, engaging both those with little knowledge and those with high levels of computer skills.

The IR Department has changed names four or five times since 1986, but whatever the name, it has always been home for Ms. Wetherbee. She has risen up in the ranks through the years and stayed with the Department for so long because of the variety.

“No two days are the same. Every day there is something to learn from my co-workers to pass on to clients,” she says.

With tenure now of more than three decades, Ms. Wetherbee has been a part of several launches, including being one of the first individuals to staff the UT Southwestern help desk when it began. Recently, she was part of the Command Center for the newly launched myTime timekeeping system.

When she’s not at work, Ms. Wetherbee enjoys gardening and camping. Her son and grandson live just a mile from her home, and one of the joys in her life is fishing with her grandson, Marshall.

Ms. Wetherbee was born in Paris – France, not Texas – and, with retirement beginning to swim into her thoughts, she is starting to muse about getting back there some day.