A Long Journey Home Leads to the Open Road

Flint – With over a decade of incarceration behind him, Marvyn Martin would decide to begin his journey toward a new life and a meaningful career.  But there were multiple obstacles he had to overcome first. When Marvyn arrived at GST Michigan Works!, he had just graduated from his Offender Success program.  He said he wanted to drive eighteen-wheelers for a living. He still faced the challenges of acquiring many of the basic documents that we usually take for granted (driver license, social security card, etc.).  Mr. Martin had also never had the opportunity to register for selective service.  He was undeterred. There were some very trying times that tested his mettle, but, a couple weeks of teamwork with his Career Coach straightened most of those issues out.  He advanced to the point of training for his CDL-A at Suburban Truck Driver Training School.  And even though the classroom environment was a bit unsettling, he excelled.  His instructors provided constant testimony to his success.  One instructor said, “ He is definitely at the top of his class.”

Marvyn continued to beat the odds and successfully completed the CDL-A program.  Employers were lining up to hire him. He started work with Reymark Unlimited Transportation in August 2021 and he hasn’t stopped trying to be better than yesterday.  One of his employment updates exemplified his feeling toward the process and the result. On a recent phone call with his Career Coach, Marvyn said,  “I’m in Arizona, and I’m looking at a REAL cactus!” “You could hear the smile over the phone. Congratulations Marvyn, enjoy the sites.”