Dean Mitchell

Date Submitted: 12/9/05

Dean writes:

What have I been doing since high school? I'd like to say that I've been seeing the world, sipping martini's, and relaxing on the beach. But that would be a lie. I've mostly been working hard and getting by.

Right after high school (almost 19 years ago) I left Smethport and went to York College in York, PA majoring in English education. To pay my way through college, I took a job managing the local Domino's Pizza and ended up working for Domino's off and on for fifteen years. I had a daily radio show at the college radio station playing top 40. I remember we played a lot of George Michael, Guns 'n Roses, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, White Snake, Richard Marx, the Bangles, and Patrick Swayze. All the college girls who called in wanted to hear Patrick Swayze sing She's Like the Wind, that song from Dirty Dancing. I wanted to break that particular tape I had heard it so much. On Saturday nights, I had my own show in which I played Contemporary Christian Music. I was also in a Contemporary Christian Band for about 6 months. We played one show at the campus in 1988, but alas all of our schedules were too busy and we broke up after the first semester was over.

In 1989, I dropped out of college and got married for the first time to Heather Murphy. Ward Baun was my best man. Heather and I had 2 beautiful daughters over the next 3 years. Jordan - who's now 15 and Julie who is now 13. We lived in Smethport from 1989 until 1993 and I worked at Allegheny Particleboard while still working at Domino's part time.

In 1993, I got tired of factory work and decided to go back to college. I packed up the family and we moved to Philadelphia where I attended Philadelphia College of Bible. I worked 60 hours a week while taking a full load and burned out pretty quickly. After a year and a half, I was packing the family back up to return to Smethport. I ended up back at Allegheny Particleboard and Domino's.

In 1997, we packed up again and moved to Atlanta, GA. I started working in the IT field that year and have been doing that ever since. Heather and I eventually went our separate ways though we're still friends and see each other often because of the kids.

In 1999, I got married the second time to a woman from Brazil. We won't talk much about that one. In 2003 we divorced and she went back to Brazil. The only good thing that came from that marriage was that I became fluent in Portuguese.

Now it's almost 2006. I have been married to the love of my life, Danila now for almost 2 years. Brian Lovell was my best man at our wedding. I have worked in the IT field for 8 years spending the last 2 years with a company called CheckFree. We manage about 80% of all online bill pay. Check it out closely the next time you pay something online. You might see our name on the screen somewhere. But when it comes to getting ahead without a degree in this field, it's very difficult. I have been an acting supervisor for over a year, but they won't actually give me the job without a degree. So, at 36, I'm back in college. I'm taking a double major in Computer Science and Political Science. Since most of my credits were in Bible courses, I had to pretty much start over from the beginning. I am 2 semesters away from my Associates Degree. By the end of 2006, I should be starting the last 2 years of my Bachelor's Degree. By the end of 2008 I should be graduating, but that won't be the end. After I'm done with the Bachelor's Degree, I'm going to go on to law school. So by 2012, I will be 43 and starting a career in law. So my busy schedule will never stop.

I often reminence about the slower pace of life in small town Pennsylvania and miss the people I grew up with. I hope everyone is doing fine and I look forward to hearing from some of you in the near future. Hopefully, this website will allow us all to restore some of those connections we've lost over the last 20 years.

My e-mail address is eaglewing20@gmail.com


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