Derek Skinner grew up in Levelland and graduated from Levelland High School.  He then attended South Plains College with the intention of becoming a veterinarian but changed to medicine when he transferred to Texas Tech.  At South Plains College he took core classes including chemistry and physics, completing 62 hours, and transferred to Texas Tech University.   While at South Plains College, his mentor was Dr. Jesse Yeh.  Derek also received the American Chemistry Association Outstanding Chemistry Student award.  He was accepted as a Howard Hughes Scholar at Texas Tech and completed his bachelor’s degree in Cell and Molecular Biology.  He was then accepted to the Texas Tech Medical School and completed his medical degree.  He completed his residency in Family Medicine and worked at Covenant Health until July 2019.  In July 2019 he opened his own practice, High Plains Primary Care