SLICE OF LIFE: Doug Stoves

By AMY D. LYNCH/Special to the Star

Doug Stoves builds his life around service. Whether it’s to students in higher education, the community or animals, his passion is compassion.
Now a resident of Harlingen, Stoves and his wife Eileen Mahoney take extensive measures to help animals find homes.
“I work a lot with my wife through the Harlingen Humane Society,” he said. “Many weekends we will take animals to Corpus Christi or Robstown and meet people from rescue groups there who help some of the shelter animals find homes. It’s not uncommon for us to make two of those two-hour trips in a day. It’s really cool to see where those animals go and find a home all over the United States and even Canada.”
Stoves spends his week days as the director of Residential Life for The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College as well as working toward his doctorate at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, driving three days a week, two hours to finish classes.
Originally from Philadelphia, he started his work in higher education while he was a college student himself at Northland College in Ashland, Wis.
After spending summers in Montana, he started to pursue a biology degree to someday go into forestry service. However, as a student, he became a residential advisor, eventually getting an offer to be the assistant director of residential life at his college. Eventually he moved into the director’s position where he stayed for 10 years, living on campus.
“I really enjoyed helping people, especially students,” he said.
After a few years, he decided to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, working part-time at a movie theater until he finished his degree. Soon after, his old post at Northland College opened back up and he returned, serving eight more years.
“It’s really transformational to see the big difference in students as time passes,” he said. “You first see them as timid freshmen and then to see them when they are seniors and leave it’s a great payoff.”
Stoves’ dedication to public service in Wisconsin also reached beyond the college. While living in Ashland, he served on the city council.
“For that, I am a firm believer in every vote counts. I won the city council seat by two votes. I’m glad my wife and I voted,” he said jokingly.