Abby Derkson/Winonan

It’s a common occurrence on weekday mornings. A student races out of her room in the morning, trying to catch the morning shuttle. As the shuttle is about to pull away, it stops. She gets on, relieved that she will make it to class on time.

But who is this person who stopped for her?

For residents living in the West Campus residence halls or East Lake Apartments, the shuttle service runs every day to ensure students can get to their classes on time.

For shuttle driver Bruce O’Dell, helping these students is the greatest perk of his job. He drives on average one to two days per week. He is retired, but he tries to have the same energy as a shuttle driver that he had earlier in life as a member of a traveling singing troupe.

“I love that we serve a purpose,” O’Dell said. “I’m not ready to stop participating in life yet.”

O’Dell’s wife passed away a few months ago. He likes driving the shuttle during the day because it keeps him busy. “It gives me discipline and direction,” he said.

O’Dell’s favorite part of his job is interacting with students.

“I believe in having fun,” he said. “If I see students are stressed, I try to lighten their load a little bit.”

Mike Frauenkron, another shuttle driver, also loves the job because of the students. A retired union carpenter, he is now a part-time driver with routes to both East and West Campus.

“I like the people and kids,” he said. “I like people from different places.”

Jody Volkman, another part-time shuttle driver, agrees the students are what makes her job the most rewarding and interesting. Like O’Dell and Frauenkron, Volkman works part time, but students can identify her by the sock monkey hat she wears.

Volkman has the sock monkey hat because it was popular when she was a kid. Her uncle, who died when she was a young girl, had one. After seeing one in a store, Volkman decided to buy it because she wanted it. Volkman said she likes to do what makes her happy.

“I go to work, and I’m happy,” she said. “That’s all that matters to me.”

Volkman is happy working as a shuttle driver because it lets her socialize and interact with people in ways that she has not done before.

“I’ve met kids from Syria and Korea. You never know who you’re going to bump into,” Volkman said. “I don’t get out much, so I like seeing people. I love to socialize. I haven’t been doing that for a number of years, and it’s nice to do that.”

To keep busy, Volkman volunteers and sings in her church choir.

“You have to do things you want before something bad happens,” Volkman said. “I worked in health care for ten years and saw things no one should see. Kids should do everything they want when they are young and while they can because too often you say you’ll do something and then you won’t.”