TOLEDO, Ohio — It's a new school year, which means a new group of students to drive around for Lisa Peters, who has been driving routes for Washington Local Schools for more than four decades.
"It's to be with the kids. If you can get through to one kid, I feel like if I can get through to one kid a year, I did it. I did my job," veteran bus driver, Lisa Peters said.
It's kind of a family affair, as her daughter, Melanie Mattox, works as a bus aid for Washington Local Schools.
"It's been a generational thing. Definitely a family affair over here," Mattox said. "I grew up at the bus garage and now I'm working here. This has been home for me since I was, yay high."
Mattox has been a bus aide for almost nine years and she's an aide on her mom's bus.
"I was actually asked, 'Do you want to drive bus?' And my answer is 'No,' because I like being up and walking around the aisles and making that socialization with the kids. It's more one-on-one than when you're stuck up front behind the wheel, in my opinion" Mattox said.
These two women are the second and third generation to work in the WLS transportation department. It all started with Peters' mom, who was also a bus driver.
"My mom was a bus driver and she was driving for about 15 years," Peters said.
"She said, 'Just try driving a bus.' I said, 'I don't want to drive a bus,' Peters said. "So I asked my dad, 'How do I get mom to quit bugging me about driving a bus?' And he said, 'Drive a bus, tell her you don't like it, she'll leave you alone.'"
All it took was one time behind the wheel and the family ended up following.
"Yeah, I never saw myself working here, that's for sure," Mattox said. "Long term I was thinking like a vet or something, it's animals or kids for me. So I was a server for a long time and then that's where I moved to the bus garage, went from adults to kids and it was a big change."
And it's the kids that have them returning year after year.
"I like to make sure that they're getting off the bus with a smiling face, happy mood and if it's the end of the day, ready to come back again tomorrow and start all over again," Mattox said.
"You see that child's face in the morning. If they had a bad morning already at home, you want to make their day better before they get to school. You want them to have that smile and I do everything I can and my bus aides are amazing," Peters said.
And get this, Peters' son and her cousin used to drive buses for the district as well.