Mr. Donald Skiles (’95) graduated from ETBU with a Bachelor’s in General Business and went on to complete his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Texas Christian University in 1997. He currently serves as AVP for Corporate Business Systems at GM Financial, is a deacon of his home church, and spends time with his wife, Catina, and their two children, Alyssa and Justin.
Following are some of Donald’s reflections on his time on the Hill.
Simply put, coming to ETBU was God’s will for my life.I have two older sisters – one graduated from Texas A&M and the other from ETBU, so those were the only two schools I was really familiar with and the only ones I considered as I was approaching high school graduation.Having many older friends who attended A&M, I loved all the traditions, and my mind was made up that I would attend there.I applied and was accepted to A&M, but could not find housing.My sister, Laura Skiles McMickle, who attended ETBU, suggested I just go tour the ETBU campus since things were up in the air at A&M.I did and fell in love with the school during that visit. I could sense during that visit that God was leading me to attend ETBU.The timing of that tour was also perfect for me to take the ACT test (on the spur of the moment) so that I could be considered for an academic scholarship.I qualified, met the deadline for application, and was awarded the Hollandsworth scholarship, which greatly helped me with the cost of private tuition.Looking back, what appeared to be obstacles to attending A&M was just God paving the way for my time on The Hill.
I had some great professors during my time who not only taught the curriculum but also invested in us as people. Dr. Jerry Summers was one of these because he was willing to be the faculty sponsor for a group of guys who had the crazy idea to start a fraternity.We organized and started Pi Sigma Epsilon in 1993 or 1994, and Dr. Summers advised and connected us with various other staff who helped us get the group off the ground.
The other was Dr. Ward Walker – during my senior year, he was piloting a capstone course, and to test out the material, he asked my five roommates and me to meet with him weekly for breakfast so we could discuss the various topics and help him refine the material.We thought we were doing him a favor, but we all learned so much from him about what it meant to have a Christian Worldview and how to live it out.I still remember the early morning horn-honking as he drove by our house on the way to the cafeteria to ensure we were awake and coming to meet with him.
The guys who lived with me in the campus house on East Ave across from the chapel are some of the most meaningful connections I would make. Randy Carter, Steve Tanner, Randy Graves, Lynn Cartwright, Shaun Martinez, and the late James Henderson all became life-long friends. Most of us met during our freshman year, then started as roommates/suitemates in the second semester, and stayed together through the rest of our time at ETBU.As we all went our separate ways, we didn’t stay as close as we would have liked, but after many years, we all reconnected during COVID.We held a couple of Zoom meetings to catch up, and it was really like we had just picked up where we had left off.
I still remember when a big storm packing damaging tornados came through Marshall.The storms woke us up, and we all came out of our bedrooms and met in the hallway to flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder.During one of those flashes, we noticed that a large pine tree was down in the front yard.Since there was so much damage and power was out across the city, classes were canceled the next day. With nothing to do, we sat around on the downed tree, singing and playing guitars. I think we made the local paper and even got interviewed by the local news station.
Another was Randal Lyle, now a professor at ETBU. We attended ETBU together but weren’t that close. However, we both landed in Fort Worth after graduation and built our friendship. We both got married, our wives hit it off, and we each ended up having children who have birthdays within sixmonths of each other. The kids grew up together, and we went on several family vacations together, from ski trips to renting lake houses to cruises and creating life-long memories.
I think ETBU prepared me by helping me solidify my faith as my own. I was no longer under my parents’ roof, so who I was as a Christian was mine to own, not a by-product of my family.ETBU gave me so many great friendships, a few pranks that will remain unspoken, and opportunities to mature as a person. You learn so much in college – not only in class but also in life lessons – and after my time at ETBU, I was definitely a different person than when I arrived. This became pivotal as I entered the workforce, began a family, and established patterns and norms we wanted to be known by.Now that I have a daughter in college and a son quickly approaching that milestone, remembering what I went through during college is helpful to pass along guidance to them as they navigate their own paths.
