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Steven Rubinas

Steven Rubinas
Traverse City, Michigan
Schmuckal Oil Co.
Scholarship Won: TCA Scholarship - $2,000

My father has been in the trucking business for over 35 years and from a very young age trucks have intrigued me. I have fond memories of going to see the “big” trucks with my dad and I knew back then that I wanted to be just like him one day. I began working with him, sweeping out furniture trucks and folding moving pads, anything to be in a truck. When I was old enough, I got my CDL B and then my CDL A. However, my dad always told me he wanted better than trucking for me, but what does that mean? I got the answer when working for Beaver Oil out of Hodgkins, IL.

My regular run would start in Hodgkins and head out for the steel mills in Gary, IN to recover waste oil. After leaving the mill, I would head to our recycling plant in Gary. That is where I met Dale. Dale was a forty year old man with a huge heart and the ability to tear things apart and put them back together without so much as a wink. However, the one thing Dale wanted, he could not have. He wanted to drive the “big” trucks, just like me, but he could not read or write well enough to pass his test. I worked with Dale for the two years I was at Beaver Oil, and just before I left, he received his CDL.

This is how my degree choice relates to the trucking industry. Unfortunately, thousands of Dales out there need help from the time they first step through those school doors to get pushed into the right direction. It’s not about what is better for me; it’s about how I can use my talents to make life better for others.