For Caden Freeman, 18, driving is the ultimate freedom. When his father steered him toward the Blinn College District’s CDL Truck Driving Program to turn his passion into a career, the Bryan native never looked back.
“I want to be a truck driver because I really enjoy traveling and want to see the world,” Freeman said. “After I talked to the instructors at Blinn, I knew this was the right choice. They don’t want you to just pass the test. They want you to be safe on the road, be successful, get a good job, and have a good career.”
Freeman credits this care and concern from the instructors as well as the wealth of driving experience they possess with setting him up for success.
“All of my instructors have been truck drivers, so they really want to show you the right way to do things because they also drive. There’s no way I would be doing as well as I have without this program.”
Beginning the program just after high school, Freeman represents the next generation of truckers that Program Director and Instructor Anthony Aragon hopes to attract to the field.
“Drivers are the number one commodity. There’s somewhere between a 90,000- to 120,000-driver shortage in the industry that grows every day someone retires,” Aragon said. “This is a hands-on career for hands-on people and it’s a great alternative to going to a university.”
After sitting behind the wheel for almost 25 years, Argon can attest to the benefits of trucking.
“When you wake up, you’re already at work, you don’t have to commute, you’re already there,” he said. “It’s a great career, it’s fun, doesn’t take a long time to achieve, you get to travel, and you can make really good money.”
Aragon believes that the connection he and his instructors have to the industry is what makes Blinn’s program truly unique.
“What you get at Blinn’s CDL Truck Driving Program is instructors who are not only knowledgeable, we also care,” Aragon said. “We don’t just teach our students to pass a test, we give them the tools that will make them successful so they can have as long a career as I had as a driver.”
Based at Texas A&M-RELLIS, Blinn’s CDL Truck Driving Program prepares students to earn their commercial driver’s license through two concurrent courses that focus on vehicle and equipment inspections, map reading, managing logbooks and cargo documentation, emergency responsibilities, dispatch procedures, and transportation agency regulations.
In addition to driving practice in a simulator, students get hands-on road training in both automatic and standard shifting vehicles featuring the latest technology. Training by hauling tank trailers gives students valuable experience if they plan to obtain hazardous material (hazmat) hauling clearance once they earn their CDL. Students also are trained on electronic logging devices and the automatic trucks feature a special anti-rollover device and radar that helps add an extra layer of safety for drivers.
Aragon believes the program’s 100% CDL test pass rate and employment rate is a testament to its dedicated instructors and in-depth instruction.
“Texas A&M-RELLIS gives our students hands-on training with some of the industry’s most technological equipment,” he said. “We put you in real-life situations, that’s how you learn to be a safe driver.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn a median salary of $54,320 per year.
Freeman is already in contact with several trucking companies and plans to work hauling tanker or refrigerated trailers once he completes Blinn’s CDL Truck Driving Program, with the eventual goal of owning his own trucking company.
“I own my own small landscaping business now and I really enjoy working for myself,” said Freeman. “I’m just very happy that I chose this industry because everybody needs drivers and if you have your CDL, you’re pretty much always going to have some kind of work.”
For more information about Blinn’s CDL Program, visit www.blinn.edu/truck-driving.
About the Blinn College District
With innovative programs and award-winning co-enrollment partnerships, Blinn’s academic transfer rate ranks No. 1 among Texas community colleges. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
Courtesy of Richard Bray, Director of Communications, Media Relations, and Marketing at Blinn College District
