Mr. McDowell began working for Sklar & Phillips Oil Company in 1996 as a geo-tech while he was attending Centenary College in Shreveport, LA. He joined Sklar at its inception in 1998. In 1999, he graduated from Centenary College with a B.A. degree in geology. From there, he continued his studies at The University of New Orleans in Louisiana and in 2002 received an M.S. degree in geology. He began working full-time as a geologist for Sklar in 2002.