Where Are They Now?
Scotty Biggs has always loved getting outside and working with his hands. Throughout a 12-year career in the Navy he enjoyed working as a boatswain’s mate, driving boats and transporting people and supplies. Now that he’s back in Dublin after 12 years away, he’s found a new career working for a broadband internet company, and in the future he hopes to train as a firefighter.
Biggs graduated in 2008 (he transferred to Stephenville his senior year but considers Dublin his hometown). After graduation, he married his long-time girlfriend Samantha, who he’d known since junior high, and the couple had two children. To help support his family, Biggs decided to join the military. “We thought it was the best decision because of the money and benefits,” he said.
Biggs chose the Navy because he’d always had an interest in firefighting. “In the Navy, everyone’s a firefighter,” he said. “You can’t call out to anybody else when you’re stuck at a sea, miles and miles away from shore.”
The family moved to Chesapeake, Virginia in 2010 so Biggs could complete his basic training. “It was pretty nice up there,” he said. “We were 10 minutes from the beach. And it was a big city, so there was tons of stuff to do.”
When Biggs finished his training, he was assigned to be a boatswain’s mate. “They described that job to me when I was joining, and it was a really hands-on job,” he said.
In his new position, he drove small boats to bring supplies and people from the port onto the ships.
Over his 12 years in the military, Biggs completed four deployments. “My first one was in 2010,” he said. “We wound up down by Somalia because there was a bunch of piracy going on. We were out to sea for two or three months nonstop.”
For the next three deployments he traveled to the Middle East, where he worked on aircraft carriers or on patrol duty.
Biggs enjoyed his time in the Navy, but in 2020 he decided to leave the service. “I wanted to spend more time with my wife and kids,” he said. “I was constantly at work or on deployments, and I just wanted to see my kids grow up.”
After leaving the Navy, Biggs drove tugboats in Chesapeake for a year before he and his family decided to move back to Dublin in 2021. “We wanted my kids to get to see our in-laws and all our family,” he said.
Biggs found a job in town working for Vyve Broadband, an internet company. “I do installation of Wi Fi modems and troubleshoot if there are any problems with them,” he said. “I’ll have like six or seven jobs on the average day. I’ll either do an install, or I’ll do a service call if somebody’s internet’s messing up or anything like that. I’ll usually get maybe three installs a day and three service calls a day.”
Biggs enjoys the work. “I like the physical part of it,” he said. “I like to be outside working with my hands. I’m constantly like, having to go up and down telephone poles, carrying my ladder around.”
In the next few years, Biggs would like to go back to school. “I’m not sure what I want to do after that,” he said. “I always wanted to be a firefighter and I think I still want to do that while I have the chance.”
When Biggs gets some free time, he enjoys relaxing with his family. “I like to cook, and I like to watch football,” he said. “Otherwise I’m just hanging out with the kids and my wife whenever we get the chance.”
Biggs and his wife now have sixchildrentogether:Aerianna, 16, Brennan, 13, Jerilyn, 12, Xannon, 10, Leighton, 6, and Paxton, 4 His family is Biggs’ source of strength and inspiration. “My wife has always had my back,” he said. “She’s always supported me through every deployment, all the times that I’ve had to leave the country or go out to sea. She’s always been there holding down the fort, making sure everything’s good.”
Biggs’ advice to Dublin graduates is to not wait to do the things they want to do. “Take advantage of every opportunity you can, because before you know it, your life’s gonna fly by,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.