From McMurry Student to CEO, and Back Again
David Bailey ’04, CEO of First Financial Bank, starts each day with a simple goal: make someone’s day better. It’s a philosophy that has guided him since his days as a student at McMurry University.
A Beginning Shaped by McMurry
McMurry was part of Bailey’s identity long before he enrolled.
“I was a McMurry Indian, now War Hawk, from the time I was born,” he recalled, having grown up immersed in the university’s culture through family ties and early experiences on campus.
Once he arrived as a student, two experiences helped shape the course of his career.
The first came when mentors encouraged him to reconsider his path. He started as a physics major because he was a strong analytical thinker. Still, they helped him realize that his analytical skills, along with his strengths in communication, leadership, and people skills, made a business degree a better fit.
The second came during his time as student government president, when Bailey stood at the podium during convocation and addressed an audience of students, faculty, community leaders, and the CEO of First Financial Bank, where he had just started as a teller.
“It was the first time I had ever stood in front of that many people… and the CEO of the bank I had just started working for was in the audience.”
David Bailey ’04Bailey understood the significance of the moment. Years later, he would find himself on the other side of a similar experience.
Leadership Redefined
For Bailey, leadership has never been about position or authority.
That perspective took shape at McMurry, where faith, service, and relationships are central to the student experience.
“Leadership has nothing to do with your title… It’s how you inspire others to be better.”
David Bailey ’04Today, as CEO, Bailey carries significant responsibility. But when asked what excites him most about the job, his answer remains focused on people: “The opportunity to inspire others… to make their lives better, that’s what gets me excited.”
A Familiar Scene
Years after his convocation speech, Bailey returned to Radford for the inauguration of McMurry University’s 11th president, Dr. Lynne Murray.
There, he met Carmen Velasquez ‘26.
As a representative of the student body, Velasquez gave remarks during the inauguration ceremony. Watching from the audience, Bailey was reminded of his own experience speaking at that same podium decades earlier.
“She spoke from her heart, and you could feel that inspiration,” Bailey said.
David Bailey ’04“That afternoon, I went to her and said, ‘You need to come talk to us at First Financial Bank.’”
Ready for the Opportunity
Velasquez was ready when the opportunity came.
A first-generation college student from El Paso and a business finance major, she was actively involved on campus, serving in student government, holding leadership roles in her sorority, and participating in honors and other campus organizations.
“It’s both exciting and humbling that the work you put in here, the relationships you build, the way you show up, really does matter,” Velasquez said. “McMurry prepared me for this moment in ways I didn’t fully realize until now.”
Carmen Velasquez ‘26
The conversation after the inauguration led to an interview and then a job offer. Velasquez spent her final semester at McMurry working at First Financial as a consumer analyst, beginning her career before graduation.
She credits her success to the support she found at McMurry.
“My connections here at McMurry got me to where I am,” she said. “The support system here is real. Faculty, mentors, and leaders see something in you and help you step into it.”
“McMurry doesn’t just provide an education. It builds relationships.”
David Bailey ’04For Bailey, those relationships helped shape a career. For Velasquez, they helped launch hers.