My Time At 5 Star CDL Academy Grand Junction , CO.

I walked in to 5 Star not sure what to expect, except that I would somehow become a truck driver, cause I was determined to get my class A license. I just figured , I'm there to learn, so I can't worry to much about what happens. And I was right ... I was first greeted by Les, the man I talked to on the phone, now finally had a face to go with it. He understood , what I was hoping and going to do, and eased my anticipation and mind. The next person I met , was Cami . Les's better half , she was all smiles, and very helpful. She made sure that everything was less complicated than I thought it was, just a delight she is. Then I met a trucking legend, Steve, he is and still will be to me . Steve , has a vast knowledge in the trucking industry, as well as everything there is to know from driving trucks, to operating them , to mechanical parts and issues , and just so much more related to trucking , I could go on for hours , but I won't. Steve and Les , were my trainers, and I thank God , it was them. So school started off fine , then there was some craziness from the DMV. The Department of Motor Vehicles , wanted all my ducks in a row first, before I could get my Commercial Learners Permit. So I got em all quacking , in a line , and there I was, with my CLP , in hand. Now for the part , i thought , was gonna be easy, the driving of a rig. I was in the truck, behind the wheel, thinking, hey , I can drive a manual transmission car, but I was wrong, its not the same. I had to double clutch the gears, and took a few days to learn it well. Now the hard part to me was downshifting. I kept beating myself up cause I thought , I just can't seem to grasp this whole downshifting thing . The whole time Les , Steve and Cami, kept reassuring me , that I will get it down, and I did. What a relief that was. It was just the repetitive driving , everyday , that led to the understanding and know how, to downshift properly . The days of class usually started of with Les or Steve teaching, in the class room, followed by some written tests. Then my classmates and I, would go out and PRE-TRIP a rig. After pre-trip , it might be lunch time, if not we would start working on backing maneuvers or start driving. Every scenario and every kind of driving , Steve, would be there in the passengers seat , showing us and telling us where to go and how to do it the right way. So much knowledge I was learning, i was like a sponge soaking it all in. If I didn't understand something or couldn't grasp something, I was kept being told it would come in time. I didn't believe , at first, and I am so glad I was wrong, and they were right. It's hard to put your faith in the hands of others, people you don't know very well, especially since I have had bad experiences with others that I trusted , that let me down. I really don't trust anyone anymore, except I trust in myself, and I could never go wrong. But I felt as if I was amongst family there , and they treated me as such. So my faith and fate was now half in the hands of friends , i have only known for a short time. I'm so glad I was able to trust them all , including classmates , cause they never let me down. What seemed like very long days of school at first, now seemed to fly by. My confidence in driving was growing so fast , I felt I was already a trucker, but there was just one more obstacle standing in my way, the actual PRE-TRIP , BACKING, and DRIVING TEST, to be a certified class A CDL driver. I was nervous, and then Les says'' Don't worry, your ready '' , Steve reassured me as well, or he would have let me known that I wasn't ,if I truly was not ready. So the BIG DAY arrived, test day. I had met 2 weeks before this day , a man , who came to test my classmates from another school, named Cable. Great Guy, by the way' . A school can't test its own students for the driving portion of your CDL, so my school tests their students, and their school tests my classmates and I. Judgement and Laws required it. Anyways, I went through PRE-TRIP test and BACKING MANEUVERS test , like a hot knife to butter. Then my driving test was next, and the whole time, Cable , was just clear and calm and putting my fears to rest. of what exactly he wanted me to do. I drove with super confidence , and when we got back to the school, he tallied up my scores and said '' You did great' YOU PASSED '' . I was jumping for joy' let a BIG '' YES '' out, and walked back to the school from the truck to get my diploma' I was on cloud9 ,adrenaline pumping, and in complete confidence now. I was a certified class A commercial driver. Now for the next rights of passage . To put forth what I have learned and skills on the road to become , a true TRUCKER. Much Thanks to Everyone at 5 Star CDL Academy. Grand Junction, Colorado. , C. T.