Evergreen Staff Spotlight

🌟 Celebrating the People Who Make Our Schools Work 🌟

Meet Angela Aspen – Bus Driver & CUPE Local 3164 President

For the past decade, Angela Aspen has been a dedicated and familiar face to Evergreen families in the Winnipeg Beach and Gimli area. Starting as a spare driver in 2014 and becoming a regular driver in 2015, Angela now not only drives Route 42 but also proudly serves as CUPE Local 3164 President. This year, she was recognized with her 10-year pin.

Driving a bus wasn’t where Angela thought her career would take her. After 13 years at a local hardware store, she signed up for Evergreen’s bus driver training course with a friend. “Becoming a bus driver gave me a better work/life balance,” Angela says. “I could be home for my kids at dinner time and during holidays. My family is the most important thing in the world to me. The rest is history — I can’t picture myself doing anything else.”

Angela emphasizes that bus drivers wear many hats. “We are more than just drivers,” she explains. “We are safety officers, role models, nurses, mediators, teachers. We are the first face students see in the morning and the last they see in the evening. These students become my kids.”

One memory that stands out for her is driving through blizzard-like conditions during exam week to make sure her students didn’t miss their tests. “Every little bit we do can make a difference in a student’s life and experience,” she says.

What Angela loves most about Evergreen is the people she works with. “Our support staff really care about the students and want what is best for each and every one of them,” she shares, pointing to bus drivers’ recent efforts to improve safety at Gimli High School’s parking lot as an example of their commitment.

She also wants the public to know how essential all staff are to public education. “There’s a huge labour shortage in the education sector that affects everyone — teachers, EAs, bus drivers, custodians. Teachers are important, but we can’t overlook the importance of the support staff that keep our schools running.”

Thank you, Angela, for your leadership, dedication, and for being the steady hand and caring heart behind the wheel.

Interviewed by and pictured with trustee Amanda Mosher