Helen Soto Knaggs
Forging an Impressive Trail
From being one of the first baccalaureate graduates of Angelo State College in 1967 to her current position as director of governmental affairs for Verizon in Austin, has been a ground breaker for women and Hispanics in Texas.
To her already extensive list of honors and awards, Knaggs can now add this year’s designation as an ASU Distinguished Alumnus.
Knaggs began her 38-year tenure with Verizon as a labor relations representative in 1969, then moved in 1975 into the governmental affairs office where she worked her way up to director in 2003. Now responsible for lobbying efforts with U.S. congressmen and senators, state legislators and business leaders, she credits much of her lifetime of achievement to her years at Angelo State.
“The conservative and disciplined environment at Angelo State strongly influenced my success in life,” Knaggs said. “As students we learned how to adhere to strict campus rules and academic excellence.”
Knaggs attended Angelo State during a time when tardiness to class was not tolerated and the dress code called for female students to wear skirts or dresses, with pants allowed only on weekends and at sporting events. But, it was also a time when she made lifelong friends and had a bit of fun along the way.
“I worked my way through college by bookkeeping for a sand and gravel company, but probably enjoyed attending dances a little too much,” Knaggs said. “Though a person would probably have had to attend Angelo State in the 1960’s to really enjoy my stories, I remember sneaking people back into Carr Residence Hall after midnight was not easy back in those days.”
“My first day at freshman orientation is still one of my fondest memories,” she added. “Standing on the stairs were two Hispanic girls and, to this day, one of them is one of my best friends and a constant supporter of encouraging me to reach for the stars.”
Though she was a business major, it was in English classes taught by Dr. Rosa Bludworth where Knaggs picked up some of her most valuable lessons.
“It was in her literature classes where I found one of my adopted motivational quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson: ‘Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’”
Knaggs’ trail has included the Texas Women’s Political Caucus; recognition as the first Hispanic woman lobbyist in Texas; appointment by President Reagan to the Small Business Administration Advisory Council; membership in the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas and Texas Senate Hispanic Research Council; being named Who’s Who of Texas Women; and the Texas Hispanic Leader of 2000 award from the League of United Latin American Citizens. But, to Knaggs, those are just the window dressing of her life.
“The most important accomplishment in my life, so far, is realizing who I really am and not trying to play up my ego or pretend to be someone I’m not,” she said. “Thus far, I have been able to maintain my faith, my family, my friends and, last but not least, my integrity in my personal and professional life.”
Helen is married to John R. Knaggs and has four stepchildren, Bart, Ryan, David and Lisa. Her brother, Sammy Soto, and her mother, Christine Soto, still live in San Angelo.