Orange & Blue

Issue date: 10/9/09 Section: Features

Derek White In His Own Words

While some students sleep in until the very last minute before their eight o'clock class, senior Derek White wakes up every morning at six a.m. to drive a school bus.

"I drive for Jefferson Country schools and everyday I have to get up at six o'clock and be on the road by 6:30," Mr. White said. "In the afternoons I leave my house about three o'clock headed to the school to pick up the kids at about 3:25."

White's bus route goes through Dandridge and Patriot Hills neighborhood. He drives to Maury Middle and Piedmont Elementary. In the morning, he estimate around 30 passengers but the crowd grows to almost sixty in the afternoon. He also drops children off at the Boys and Girls club in the afternoon.

White believes his relationship with the kids is healthy and thinks he is a better bus driver than the older ones.

"The kids never have to be afraid of me, because I hope I feel like a big brother to them," White said. "My relationship with the kids is very good, because I can discipline them but I can also laugh with them."

Though the job may be a little unconventional, White believes it is the ideal occupation for college students who take a full load of classes.

"The hours are perfect and it actually pays pretty well," White said. "I make $75 dollars a day for about four hours of work. It really is the perfect job."

To drive a school bus, White explains the rather complicated process of obtaining a commercial drivers license.

"You have to do a road test, three different written tests, and log thirty-two hours with another person," White said. "It is a very extensive process and if you switch states - like I did - you have to yield the license from that state and go through the whole thing again in your new location."

Mr. White is a Business management major, who plans to graduate in December. He says that he does not want to drive a school bus as a career, but if he had a job that would let him keep driving he would do it for the extra money.

"It can be a little rough sometimes, but it is totally worth it," White said. "And, when it comes down to it, I do really love my job. I get to touch kid's lives on a daily basis."

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