The youngest of four children, Donald King was raised in a military family that settled in Eastern North Carolina in 1977. He graduated from Eastern Wayne High School in LaGrange, North Carolina in 1984. Although strongly discouraged by his family, King began attending Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina and graduated with an Associate Arts degree in 1988.

King then enrolled in East Carolina University in August 1988 while also working more than 30 hours a week. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1990. He returned to ECU in 1992 and earned a Masters degree in Adult Education and Counselor Education in 1995. King lives with his wife Michelle, also a graduate of ECU, in Ayden, North Carolina and works at Pitt Community College.

Listen to and read a transcription of his oral history

Citation
Donald King oral history interview, April 16, 2008. First in the Family Oral History Collection. UA45-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/1255