It was always a dream for Elizabeth Aguilar to go into the truck driving business. Her family has been well represented on the open road, dating back many generations of uncles and cousins. Her father was a prominent figure with a local chapter of the Teamsters back in the day when they worked side by side with other Farm Labor Unions. Truck Driving is a way of life for the Aguilars. “I said it’s either time for me to do what I want to do,” Elizabeth Aguilar remembers telling herself. “Or I lay in bed and sulk about being sick and never do anything about it.”
At 52 years old, Aguilar decided to get out of bed to follow her dreams and not let the Cancer inside her brain win. Aguilar looked into different truck driving schools, but she was confronted by a seemingly new barrier that would zap her hope away each time. Eventually, though, she would find her place. “Somebody was telling me there were some programs out there to help me,” Aguilar said. “I was working farm labor, and my husband was working in farm labor, and so they said to check out Proteus, and I did. They were able to help me with my rent, Mayra Galvez, a Case Manager at Proteus, was able to listen to my concerns, and when I wasn’t working, they could help me with food. So that was a positive too because I didn’t know where to turn to at that time.” Proteus could pay for her Truck Driving Training through grants 41020 DOL. So, even if it took Aguirre longer than most students to complete, she eventually received her Class A License.
“Proteus was patient with me because I was going through some medical issues, wondering if I was going to go thru MRIs and EKGs,” Aguilar said. “I was afraid what was growing on in my brain was going to keep me from going, but Mayra Galvez was like okay, where are you? She was so supportive in the sense that she was making sure I would follow through with what I needed to do. She was also motivated by telling me that I had just as much right to learn as the men, and at one point, I was going to drop out, but they didn’t give up on me. Mayra pushed me until the end when I was feeling low.”
“As a woman, to be a truck driver was hard already, just with how much of a male-dominated industry it is,” Galvez said. “So I kept telling her she has to finish, you have to continue. She had a setback where she missed a few weeks of training because of doctor appointments. So I kept telling her to keep studying and continue, and by September, I told her she would be working. Now she feels the accomplishment, and I have noticed how much more confident she is now.”
On September 29th, 2021, Aguilar was hired by GBTI, a local trucking company in Fresno, California. She is now taking home $2,400 every two weeks. It is a significant increase from the $400-$500 she made weekly picking fruit and vegetables. The new career allows Aguilar and her husband to live their life with less financial worries and the chance to enjoy the rest of her life. “You guys are a saving grace for people,” Aguilar said. “Some people don’t have options to pay for training or know how to go about doing it for themselves, so I really appreciate Proteus.”
Through it all, Aguilar stayed the course and never let her medical condition deny her from realizing her dream. “If I was to stop because of my illness,” Aguilar said. “Then I would have failed at challenging myself to overcome it.” Now that Elizabeth Aguilar has fulfilled her dream of following in the family legacy, she found a new goal that has taken its place.
“My dad calls me every couple of days asking, “Where are you, Mija?” Aguilar proudly shares. “He kind of lives vicariously through me now, depending on wherever I am. My kids are very proud of me that I am still moving forward. But I’m really looking forward to gaining enough experience so I can take my grandkids on a trip with me so that when grandma does pass away, one memory they will have is riding in grandma’s truck.” And who knows, maybe that ride fuels a lifetime dream of the open road in one of her grandkids.
