Interested in being a bus driver? Complete an application at bit.ly/VBemployment.
Arian Keeran and Janelle Sica remember who first encouraged their interest in bus driving.
Van Buren bus driver Von Bishop encouraged Keeran’s fascination. He vividly remembers how pleasant Bishop always was when he greeted students in the morning and wished them good night after school.
It was Keeran, who started driving a bus for Van Buren in 2010, who encouraged Sica’s fascination with bus driving when she rode his bus for the first time in kindergarten. Now at Terra State after graduating from VB in 2024, Sica plans to earn a business management degree and move into the transportation field for a career which involves bus driving in some capacity.
While not everyone rode a bus to and from school daily or works in the transportation industry today, everyone likely remembers the bus drivers who transported them to sporting events and field trips to make those experiences possible for students. One word sums up those drivers and the experiences they have created: memorable.
Keeran, who is now the Transportation Supervisor, has been driving for Van Buren for 15 years, but Kris Trenkamp and Matt Conkle aren’t far behind him as both started during the 2014-2015 school year. Trenkamp used her degree in exercise science to work full-time in corporate wellness and cardiac rehabilitation before staying home to raise her children, but when her youngest started sixth grade, she decided to start driving because of the positive experiences she’d had with the bus driver who picked up her kids each day.
“Driving was something I could do when the kids were in school, but I also saw it as community service. It was a calling for me,” she said.
Conkle had a similar experience as he worked as an electrician for 31 years before wanting to do something totally different. He was familiar with the district as his three children graduated from VB, and he served on the VB Board of Education from 2001-2013. When he joined the board, a former VB board member told him, “If you do what’s best for the kids, you can sleep at night.” Conkle let that guide him as a board member, and, he said, “I’m still living out that quote as a bus driver.”
Trenkamp and Conkle both agree that while there is a lot of responsibility as a bus driver–watching the kids both on the bus and while entering and exiting, watching traffic, watching for deer–the best part about bus driving is the relationships built with the students and families.
“The bus is almost like its own little world,” Trenkamp said. “Students might not always get along with each other, or they might be dealing with the loss of the family dog and bringing that heartache with them to school, but that’s the real world. I’m there to help them learn those life lessons. I feel the responsibility of getting the kids to school safely every day. I want all of them to have a positive experience, and I appreciate the support of the parents as I do my job.”
Those relationships have also led to some great experiences Conkle has had with students.
“We have a lot of fun during the week of the Ohio State/Michigan game in November. We even once saw a bald eagle in a field pick up a live groundhog and fly right past the bus while carrying it. That is just one of the many teachable moments we have shared over the years,” he said.
In the process of being memorable and beneficial to students, bus drivers can also help themselves. Charlotte Brickman, who is new to Van Buren this year, noted some of the benefits she has experienced since becoming a bus driver, including having summers off, which allows her to work a summer job. She also has the middle of each day—after the morning route taking students to school and before the afternoon route taking them home—to run errands, go to doctor appointments, and more. What she most appreciates, though, is the opportunity to support kids.
“I was a 4-H leader for four years before the pandemic, and when it decimated our club, I was looking for another opportunity to support students; being a bus driver has given me the opportunity to do that,” Brickman said.
Even if people haven’t had the goal of being a bus driver since childhood like Keeran and Sica, they could get started as a substitute driver. There is always a need for drivers because trips sometimes depart before school, teams occasionally have to leave for contests before school is over, and drivers are sometimes unable to drive because of illness.
Trenkamp and Conkle, who both drive multiple routes during the school day, also enjoy driving for athletic events.
“We have enjoyed a lot of Friday night football games. The coaches and athletes are fun, and we love giving words of encouragement on and off the bus. It’s almost like we’re part of the team,” Trenkamp said.
According to Keeran, there are two requirements for anyone who would like to become a bus driver: earn a Class B commercial driver license (CDL) and complete at least 15 hours of classroom training and 12 hours of behind-the-wheel training. The best news is that the school district will pay for the CDL license, and Keeran will be there to support the new drivers throughout the training process.
It is at this point that many people say, “This all sounds great. I love the idea of making sure students get to and from school safely and building great relationships–then the “but” comes–but I couldn’t drive something as big as a bus.” Brickman will be the first to tell you that she was also initially intimidated by the size of the bus, but now she is used to it.
“I actually like driving a bus more than a car because it is so easy to see everything since I sit higher than everyone else,” she said.
Whether it is wishing each student a good morning or good night or receiving a hug in the grocery store when an elementary student spots them, bus drivers have an opportunity to feel fulfilled and positively impact our community every day of the school year. For everyone involved, it is definitely a memorable experience.
If you would like to have the opportunity to impact students every day, Van Buren is hiring both full-time and substitute drivers for the 2025-2026 school year. Our drivers are essential to us achieving our mission of building thinkers, building experiences, and building connections, and we would love for you to join us on that journey. Complete an application at bit.ly/VBemployment.
Want to stay “in the know” regarding what is happening at Van Buren Local School District? Visit bit.ly/VBLSKITK to be added to the mailing list to receive the once-monthly Knights in the Know email highlighting what happened in the district during the previous month.
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