SMITH – If you’ve ever ridden a school bus, there’s a good chance you remember your driver. Maybe they were a tyrant who expected a group of 20-something kids to sit quietly for fear of triggering their wrath. Or, as is the case for this year’s Aspen View Board of Trustees Bus Driver of the Year award, maybe their continued hard work, kindness, and dedication to the safety of the riders created a warm glow for students on their way to, and back from school.
Jan Bosma was named this year’s top bus driver in an April 30 ceremony, where Ward 1 trustee Brenda Fulmore presented her with the award. Bosma was nominated by staff, students, and parents for her diligence and kind-hearted approach to the kids she works with every day.
“Jan is an amazing bus driver,” read one nomination. “She drives half an hour from Flatbush each day to do her daily runs. At the beginning of the year, we didn’t have enough drivers, so she ran two buses combined into her daily runs.”
Of course, that level of hard work is going to be less important to students, who prefer Bosma for her consistent kindness, willingness to have fun with the students — she’s known for country music singalongs — and her generosity.
“All the students who ride on Han’s bus love her,” read another nomination. “The students are always greeted by Jan warmly. The kids clamber to be on Jan’s bus because she is always generous and buys treats for the whole bus.”
“She always has a cheerful attitude when I see her, she always has a smile, and it always brightens my day,” read another nomination.
Bosma said the credit should really go to all her fellow bus drivers, and she added that anyone who, “puts a positive outlook into a child’s life is a hero.”
“Each and every bus driver, if you get up in the morning and get on the bus, even if you only have one child, you’re doing an amazing job,” said Bosma. “It takes a big person to get out there and carry the most precious gift on earth.”
