About Me
Scott Pantall February 1, 2010
This whole site is about me, but I guess we have to start somewhere, right?
I’m a 911 dispatcher, a computer geek, a hockey fan, a future business owner, a husband and a father. I may say something smart, so read carefully. I live in Littleton, Colorado with my wife, Corrine, and my daughter, Ashlynn.
If you want a history of the professional me without all the commentary, check out my profile on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/10/7b2/a84
The Early Years
I started life in Denver, CO in March of 1980. I spent my childhood growing up in the western suburbs of Denver. I grew up with my mom, Jennie, and my younger sister, Sam. My favorite memories from growing up are playing in Uncle Jack’s backyard with Sam; spending time with my dad in Wyoming; and playing board and card games with my mom.
Education
I spent my K-6 years as a Panther where I learned that I like math, dislike English class, couldn’t fight, and procrastinate.
I then spent the next 2 years as a Knight, then a Patriot, but mostly as a prepubescent teen whose hobbies seemed to be finding new ways to make my mom yell at me and playing crappy music really loud. Middle school has very little educational value.
In high school I was a Farmer for 2 years where I played football despite the fact that I was half the size of most of the other players. Then I was introduced to punk rock, “alternative” rock, and the color black. I learned that algebra came easy to me, I still didn’t like english class, computers are fun, and that teenage love is the best/worst thing in the world. We moved and I became a Bear for 2 years where I did a great job under-performing academically while having fun, then graduated.
After high school, the Marine Corps taught me to be a lean, mean, fighting machine. They also taught me how to install Windows (click “Next”), how to build and configure a network, how to build/break/fix a PC, and how to stay somewhat sane in the expansive desert surrounding Twenty-nine Palms, California.
I took up my nice Uncle Sam’s offer to pay for college after I came home and graduated in the top of my class at Westwood College of Technology with an Associates Degree in Computer Programming. A sense of purpose, a great instructor, good classmates and only two English classes helped me to graduate with honors.
Career
As a kid, I earned money by racing my sister and begging my mom. I don’t remember ever setting up a lemonade stand.
When I got older, I felt the need to collect Matchbox Cars, Micro-Machines, and baseball and football cards. My mom didn’t think buying these things were as important as I did, so I worked a paper route with some friends. I think it turned out to be more work for our parents than it was for us.
High School brought me some odd jobs. I sold shaved ice and hot cider (depending on the temperature) at CU Buffalo football games. I layed tile for one summer and found out I didn’t like that at all. I even tried working at a McDonald’s and a Burger King where I learned about the evils of middle managers.
After high school, I joined the Marine Corps in 1998. After breaking my ankle in boot camp in San Diego, California then getting through my occupational school in Twenty-nine Palms, California, I spent 3 years in always-sunny Yuma, Arizona. I was the hands-on tech support for about 60 Marines that provided maintenance and supply services. One of the highlights was setting up a small LAN in the middle of the desert.
Honorably discharged in 2002, I came home to find the tech bubble busted. As a 22 year old with limited IT experience and no college education, I didn’t stand a chance finding a tech job. After working one Broncos game as a beer vendor (not as fun as it sounds), I went to college and fell back on the type of job that anyone from the military can get. I found work as a security guard!
Twin City Security provides security guards mostly for car lots, construction projects and apartment buildings. This meant that when I wasn’t at school I was usually sitting in a vacant lot or lobby reading Dean Koontz books and trying not to fall asleep. If you have a tolerance for boredom and routine, you can succeed at being a security guard. Within a couple months, I was promoted to Field Supervisor/Dispatcher! During the dispatcher shifts, I worked in a small guard shack with a scanner, a phone, a radio, a hand-held Yahtzee game and 3-5 cockroaches on average. During the supervisor shifts, I drove around the entire Denver metro area (usually in my own car because the company car was always broken) making sure guards were succeeding in staying awake and checking doors to creepy old buildings. Having reached my full potential at that company in the 9 months I worked there (The only positions above Field Supervisor were Operations Manager and Owner), I decided to move on to more glamorous work…
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