✰ After years of driving trucks and
Gendrys Maldonado Driver Trainer, Student Transportation of America (STA), Butler Terminal
working 12- to 15-hour days, Gendrys “Gee” Maldonado was ready for a change. His wife, whose family in- cludes school bus drivers, suggested he give pupil transportation a try. He did, and four years later, Maldonado has gone from a school bus driver to helping prepare the next generation of drivers as a driver trainer with Student Trans- portation of America. The transition initially brought some uncertainty. Maldonado had spent years driving trucks alone
and suddenly found himself responsible for a school bus full of students. But when he interviewed with STA, he made his ambitions clear: He wanted to grow with the company. When an opportunity later came to join the safe- ty team, he accepted.
Maldonado said he begins his day by pre-tripping his school bus and completing a morning route. He then
moves into his training schedule, leaning into his own experience as a driver, which can include classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction. He also works with the safe- ty department to document training, identify areas where new drivers need additional instruction, and assist with driver and monitor compliance. “The best feeling in the world is to know that you helped another person to succeed in life,” Maldonado said. “What got me into training was that I doubted myself when I start- ed, and I did not want new bus drivers to have that feeling.” Maldonado said he wants trainees to feel secure in their new
careers while recognizing that each person may require a dif- ferent approach because not everyone learns the same way. “My favorite part of my job is when I am at the road test, I
say to the trainee, ‘We did it!’ and then I take a picture of the trainee with their passing paper at the DMV,” he said. Maldonado credits his wife as the greatest influence on
his career and also thanked the staff at STA’s Butler termi- nal, including Rebecca Dollaway and Michele Balkunas, for believing in him. “I am always open to learning something new every day,” Maldonado said.
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