In 1979, a teenaged Tom Vang immigrated from Laos to Minnesota with his father to be close to family and to find opportunities. About a decade later, he found opportunity at Metro Transit.

“I was working as a teacher and working part time at Metro Transit,” Vang said. “After a few years of doing both, I realized the pay and benefits were better being a bus driver.”

Like many college graduates, Vang discovered a great career that wasn’t a title printed on their degree. His degree and experience in education did prove helpful in his newfound career as a classroom filled with students and a busload of passengers share a lot in common.

“I work with people,” he said. “And when you work with people, you work with difficult ones sometimes.”

When he began, operators made $8 an hour, buses were red and had no power steering nor air conditioning, Snelling Garage still existed and Ruter was called Shingle Creek. Today, as he leaves Metro Transit with all the modern advancements and amenities operators enjoy, Vang realizes that his 34 years  went by fast.

“Metro Transit is a place to meet lots of different people onboard and in the garage,” Vang said. “The time here goes by fast.”

He recommends Metro Transit as a great place to grow a career and recommends working here to others, including his son Johnny, now an operator with ten years of service and counting. During Johnny’s early years, Vang served as a mentor and answered all his questions. And the same advice he gave his son, he’ll happily share with others.

“Stick with it. With time, you get seniority,” he said. “And try to do your best every day.”

In retirement, Vang plans to travel to Europe and South America. And, when he’s not traveling, he’ll tend to his 7-acre hobby farm with sweet corn, mustard greens, and a host of other plants.