First Student’s Diversity & Inclusion Council (D&IC) is proud to recognize our own Linda Ondrus during Women’s History Month.
For almost a decade, Linda has led the operation at one of our most prominent locations in Northern Illinois.
She recently helped the Indian Prairie and Oswego communities respond to the pandemic by providing meal delivery services and technology distribution services to students when remote learning was instituted almost overnight. Without Linda’s leadership, outcomes and access to learning during the pandemic could have looked very different.
In addition to Linda’s daily duties as a location manager at a 300 bus location, she serves as an Illinois Stated Certified Instructor.
As bus companies have struggled through driver shortages, getting new candidates through state-mandated training has been a challenge and a potential bottleneck in the hiring process. Thankfully it never got to that point in Northern Illinois because Linda was willing to host and teach a State Class whenever and wherever needed.
Countless times she gave up her nights and weekends to ensure that she was setting students up for academic success by getting as many drivers safely behind the wheel of a bus as possible.
Looking at all of the things Linda has accomplished in her career as a driver, trainer, training center manager, and now location manager, you can only look on in awe. She is the epitome of what it means to achieve success through selfless behavior.
For these reasons, Linda deserves to be celebrated as someone who has made a unique and lasting contribution with the people that she has worked with and in the communities she has served.
First Student is proud of its diverse workforce and women in leadership roles. On average in the United States, women make up 47% of the workforce. First Student’s workforce is 56% women.