Today we’d like to introduce you to Geoff Aklinski.
Hi Geoff, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2002 with a BA in advertising and marketing. I originally wanted to be pre-med… but after my first year, I changed my major from Pre-med to business. After doing my sophomore year at SMU and the business major, I realized again this was not for me. I changed my major to theater and marking/advertising. This was a much better match for me and much more easy for me and ended up graduating from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a BA in advertising and marketing. From
There I went to Perot systems… in Plano, Texas that was owned by and run by Ross Perot. It’s an IT company.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being in a cubical was a nightmare for me. I ended up gaining a lot of weight and finally had to use my lunch break at Perot systems to use their gym and work out
And eat at my cubicle as I answered phones. I lost weight but was unhappy. I did not like working at an IT company, and seemed like a dead end for me. I answered phone calls from medical hospitals around the country that forgot passwords or couldn’t log into their computers or programs and talked them threw it or reset passwords or opened tickets. I mentioned a few good changes for what we did and got a few promotions. I started applying to Dallas Fire to be a fireman paramedic, but at that time, 2-3,000 people applied at the time, and the waiting list was so long and big. It took me 2 years on the list to get a call. I called every 3-6 months to check on my status. I finally got called in for the process.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Firefighter paramedic for Dallas Fire Reacue for 17.5 years now. I have seen more done more than most other smaller cities.
What were you like growing up?
I was a “nerd.” My parents didn’t have much money, and we lived in the country in Illinois. Farming community. 2400 people and had to drive to Indiana to go shopping
Or eat, which was 45 min away. I spent my time on my dirt bike: I would go ride for 10’a of miles each day to see friends and go meet and have fun. I was always outside. Playing outside, riding my bike, fishing at the local ponds, and doing boy things.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/Txfireman911
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@firemanchefgeoff4567
