De’Ondre Harris is a third-year transfer student and bus operator for UGA Transportation and Parking Services, which offers students the ability to work as an employee for the university and earn their commercial driver’s license (CDL).
Q: Why did you transfer to UGA?
A: UGA has always been my dream school since graduating from high school, but I got denied. So I went to Georgia Southern and I ended up liking Georgia Southern, but my department went into debt, so we couldn’t afford teachers. If I had stayed at Georgia Southern, I would have had to be there an extra year to take more classes because we couldn’t afford teachers to compensate for the lack of classes.
Q: Why did you apply to be a bus driver?
A: When I was younger, I was fascinated with buses. I was, like, I want to be a bus driver. And my mom was telling me De’Ondre, no. Sorry, that’s not happening. Unless you can make a career out of that, you’re not doing that. That’s not happening. So when I was learning about UGA from a young age, I knew that bus driving was a student job, and at the time, it was the highest-paid student job. So I always told myself, if I ever go there, that’s my job. I’m going to work there. I’m going to fulfill my dreams and be a bus driver.
Q: What are some pros that come with being a student bus driver?
A: I think the No. 1 thing is flexibility. I submit the times I can work and the times I cannot work, and I’m not scheduled. So if I say I can’t work on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays, I’m not scheduled on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays.
Q: Can you explain what a CDL is?
A: A Commercial Driver’s License is a license that you need to drive anything over 25,000 or 26,000 pounds. So I’m a Class B. I can’t drive a tractor-trailer and I can’t drive 18-wheeler trucks. That’s Class A. The different classes are based on the different weights you can drive. So I’m Class B and I have a Passenger Endorsement. That just means I can drive a bus and I can have passengers on the bus. I can have 25 or more passengers on the bus.
Q: Why do you think UGA is experiencing a bus driver shortage?
A: You have to be a little fearless when it comes to this job, and I feel like most people don’t have that. I feel like most people second-guess themselves. They don’t think they can drive it, but I tell people, you driving this bus is safer than you being in your car. So I think they have this misconception of what it is and are like, that is too big, I can’t. But once you get a feel of it, you realize, oh, this is nothing. But I get why people think that way, and I don’t want to pressure anyone because, again, this is an intense job.
Comments trimmed for length and clarity.
Context: This interview was completed as a requirement for my Reporting I class during my undergraduate studies.
