Written by Taylor Hannon |
taylor@stnonline.com Ruth Newton |
ruth@stnmedia.com
Stephanie Foster, Shop Assistant | Pell City School System, Alabama
Stephanie Foster is on her eighth year in pupil transportation as the shop assistant at Pell City Schools in Alabama. She is the second
woman in the state to obtain her school bus mechanic certification.
D
espite school buses remaining parked for a ma- jority of the 2020-2021 school year nationwide, the unsung heroes in the shop still woke up every morning to ensure the school buses were
in working order, to prepare for when they did return to the road. This month’s Garage Stars explained to School Trans-
portation News that there is nothing more important than sending a bus out in working order, as it carries the most precious cargo. When buses leave on their morning routes, mechanics shared they anxiously await their return in perfect condition. If an inspector finds something wrong with a bus, it falls on the mechanic. If children are hurt in an accident because the brakes failed, it falls on the mechanic. “I don’t think people really give our mechanics enough
credit for the liability that they carry, because every time the kids are placed on the buses, [mechanics] sit back and worry, as the safety of those kids is the most im- portant thing,” explained Stephanie Foster, one of STN’s 2021 honorees. “That’s non replaceable, and that’s a lot of weight to put on somebody’s shoulders—and I under- stand drivers carry that, too, don’t get me wrong—but it’s different when you have one bus to worry about, where- as a school bus mechanic has all the buses to worry about, all the buses that they’re responsible for.” Foster had just turned 21 when she found herself in the
pupil transportation industry. At that time, she was the second mechanic in the state of Alabama to obtain her school bus mechanic certification. However, she now is the only female school bus mechanic in the entire state.
36 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2021 Amber Harlow was the first. But she took a job in the
private sector a couple of years ago, according to Chad Carpenter, the director of transportation at the Alabama State Department of Education. “I found out before I took my test [that I was the
second woman] and to be honest with you, it’s a little in- timidating,” Foster said, who serves as the shop assistant for Pell City Schools in Alabama. “… I spent a lot of time going over our buses and making sure I knew what I was doing and knew what to check and what to look for.” She explained that every month the mechanics in-
spect all of the district’s 53 buses, as required by the state. The more she did that the more she learned and felt confidence in herself. “I was so nervous that I was going to mess up, and I
didn’t want to let myself down because that’s a proud accomplishment,” she said of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. For other women considering being a mechanic, she said that if they have passion for it, they shouldn’t let fear or intimidation hold them back. “The more knowledge you can collect, it will take you a long way,” Foster advised, speaking from experience. “I started off as a teenage girl working on random Hondas for my friends because that’s what I enjoyed, and now I’m here. So, the more knowl- edge, the better you are, and the hands-on experience will get you much further in a mechanic industry.” While other students in her high school were out caus-
ing trouble, Foster recalled she spent her free time with her best friend Patrick Ferguson, who is also a mechanic to this day. As a teen, he worked on race cars out of his house and Foster would hang out with him and ask questions. She eventually started helping with the repairs. During high school, she started working in a body shop, where she learned how to fix bumpers and replace parts. She said she ended up marring the shop’s painter, Josh Foster, and they recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary. The couple have two children.
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