David "Doc" Smith

By Nicole Newby

David Smith, Dallas sophomore, differs from the typical college student as he plays the role of both full-time student and father.
“My job right now is being a father,” commented Smith. “My five-year-old daughter, Desiree, is unique in her own way.”
Smith considers his daughter a tomboy. She loves sports, especially basketball, softball, football and soccer.
“I first exposed her to basketball when she was three months old. We would sit there and watch it all day,” said Smith.
Desiree, however, lives in Mississippi with her mother while Smith attends school. The last time he saw his daughter was during the spring of 2006 and he hopes to see her again this December when she celebrates her sixth birthday.
“I talk to her on the phone every day. She has my number on speed dial, so either she calls me or either I call her,” added Smith. “She knows that I am in school, too, even though she doesn’t understand how college is different from her school. She asks me if I am going to class and if I am being good. She basically asks me the same things that I ask her.”
Smith added that his daughter’s personality is just like his. She acquired her love of sports through her father, who has met NFL players such as Tony Dorsett, Jerry Rice, Steve McNair, Walter Payton, Deuce McAllister and Eli Manning.
Smith also has a love for music. He was exposed to it for the first time when he was in the first grade and has since then played the French horn and the trumpet for his school bands. He became a member of the band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi in 2000 at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Proof of his love of music is also seen when he wears his headphones everywhere he goes. Smith’s other trademark in the classroom is his headgear, whether it is a cap or a comb in his hair. He also always wears a smile on his face and possesses a sense of humor. When asked what was unique about him, Smith replied with a smile: “The most unique thing about me is that even though I am 27, I don’t look like I am 27.”
Smith has lived in four states and traveled to 788 cities throughout his time as an employee for Greyhound Transportation. He has resided in California, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, where he met his daughter’s mother. He graduated from Cedar Hill High School in 1997 and currently resides in Nacogdoches. He moved to East Texas in August 2005 to follow a relationship and now attends Stephen F. Austin State University. He is studying to become a history major with a minor in radio and television. Once he finishes with school, he hopes to return home to teach for a year and then move to Nashville, Tennessee.
Smith is the oldest sibling in his family. He has two younger sisters and a younger half-brother. Growing up he was protective of his sisters and anticipates being the same way with his daughter, Desiree. He is also an uncle to four nieces and a nephew.