Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

The Aggie Hall of Fame Anita Skipper’s journey takes them back to Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES – New Mexico State Hall of Fame and former WNBA player Anita Skipper has always been drawn to Las Cruces, both as teenagers recruited into college basketball and adults looking for a place to go she can settle down with her family.

As a 17-year-old high school basketball star who chose between offerings from the University of Southern California, Syracuse, and the NMSU, she said she felt like an aggie and in Las Cruces. And more than 20 years later, the school’s all-time leader on points, rebounds, and steals found moving back to southern New Mexico a relatively simple decision.

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Skipper, now Chief Public Information Officer for Doña Ana County, moved to Las Cruces in November 2020 after living in various cities, most recently Dallas, after playing for the Cleveland Rockers of the WNBA in 1997 and three seasons professional basketball in Had played abroad. She said her decision to return to her university town did not feel compelled and everything “fit” for the move.

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“I didn’t want (my husband) to move just because (I) wanted to move. I wanted this to be where we let our families live,” Skipper said. “And (my husband) actually likes it here too. He says, ‘I love not being in traffic and nothing is very far away.’ So we’re here in Las Cruces. “

When she arrived in Las Cruces almost a year ago, she said a position with the county “landed in (her) lap”. She had more than 15 years of community relations and public affairs experience before starting her financial planning firm Successful Life, and she missed public communication and outreach.

However, she quickly realized that she could continue her business without disrupting her position in the county by working with customers in the evenings and on weekends.

“It would allow me to go back to what I love. It was a couple of years before I discovered that (communication) was my niche,” Skipper said. “That was what I was strong at – helping companies become part of the community, reach, and all of those things.”

She found that there are parallels between college and professional basketball and success in the workforce, like quarterly goal.

Despite her ties to the game, she said she doesn’t miss playing basketball despite being thrilled to be supporting the Aggies men’s and women’s teams this season. She joked that her body disagrees with her while her mind tells her that she can still play. But if she could offer advice to current NMSU players, she would say not to wait for the ball to stop bouncing to ponder their future outside of the game.

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“College lasts at least four years for a reason. You are not expected to know everything (equally), you are not supposed to be the best at everything. It’s still a very learning environment. Learn everything you can , and see anything you don’t experience or dislike for feedback, “Skipper said. “I think it takes some perspective to realize college is the easy time, so I always tell people, ‘Don’t hurry.’ The real world is out there, waiting and taking no prisoners. Enjoy this time of isolation in a college setting. “

She plans to play at least a few Aggie games this year and looks forward to appreciating her games as a fan, something she hasn’t had enough opportunities throughout her career as an employee, but she doesn’t make any predictions about how the seasons will go the NMSU might look like going. She’s just excited to see college athletes use her four years of school.

“You think, ‘Oh, every day is so slow, I can’t wait to graduate.’ It’s faster than you think, “Skipper said.” And I can tell you that one of the things that are important to me in college, the relationships you build in college tend to be your lifelong friends applies to me and it applies to a lot of people I know, so when I say, “I watch the young women play, I hope they appreciate every moment of it.”

Stephen Wagner is a sports reporter for Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be found on Twitter at @ stephenwag22 and can be reached at [email protected].

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