David Slovick has not always followed the straight and narrow path. He’s been in and out of prison and struggled with substance abuse. Now, two years sober with a good job in construction, Slovick has found inspiration to live a better life through his freedom and his faith.
Slovick was part of the Dublin High School class of 1993, but ended up leaving school before he graduated. He went to the Paradigm Accelerated Charter School to earn his diploma, and worked for the late Chuck Fowler, who owned a construction business in town.
In 1995, Slovick traveled to Albuquerque, NM to complete a training program in the job corps. “They do vocational training, and I was studying computer programming,” he said.
When Slovick finished his time in the job corps, he came back to Dublin and resumed working for Fowler. “We built dairy barns and free stalls,” he said.
Slovick had to learn all his construction skills on the job. “It was a learning process from the time I started working there until I ended up moving away,” he said.
Slovick also took on other construction jobs in town, working for the late Billy Ditmore’s company Ditmore Construction as well.
In 2001, Slovick found himself struggling with alcohol use, and checked himself into a substance abuse rehabilitation program in Fort Worth.
Once he finished rehab, he stayed in Fort Worth and took a job for Walker Building Construction operating heavy machinery. He stayed there for 18 months before he ended up going back to prison on alcoholrelated charges.
“When I was in prison, I started reading the Bible,” said Slovick. “As I got to reading it, I got more interested.”
When he got out of prison, he decided to follow his faith and attend missionary college in Lindale at what is now the Calvary Commission Bible Institute. “I wanted to change my life, do something different,” he said.
For the next couple of years, he studied the bible, went back to prison, then went back to missionary school when he got out again. “It turns out being a missionary wasn’t my calling,” Slovick said.
So in 2016, he moved to Tyler for a job in construction remodeling that he found through a friend. He stayed there for a year, then went back to prison again until 2023, when he got out of prison for the final time.
Upon his release, Slovick moved to Mission, Texas. “I just wanted a change of scenery and geographical location,” he said.
The fresh start was good for Slovick. He met his nowwife, Nikki,atthelaundromat, and started working as a forklift operator for Rio Truss Company, which builds roofing trusses. “On an average day I load trucks, move orders in and out,” he said. “I like the people here. We’ve got great employees and a great boss. It’s close to where I live and the hours are good.”
When he has free time, Slovick enjoys fishing, walking in the park, and taking trips to the beach at South Padre Island. Slovick currently lives in Mission with his wife Nikki. His parents, Billy and Sarah Slovick, have passed away.
Slovick’s faith is still important to him. “I go to church every Sunday and Wednesday at New Life Family Church in McAllen,” he said.
He’s been sober for two years now, and his faith — along with his experiences being incarcerated — help him maintain a sober lifestyle. So do his early role models, like his third grade teacher Ms. Underwood and the Johnson family, who ran the Paradigm school in Dublin.
Slovick offers the following advice to Dublin graduates. “My greatest advice is to watch your close friends, watch who you hang out with, so you don’t get inspired to do the wrong thing,” he said. “Get inspired to get a higher education. Life in construction is not always the greatest. An education goes a long way.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.