Adelanto bus driver Joshua Brokenbough, 26, held up the Costco food court line with an order of 20 pizzas. While he was loading the doughy discs into his personal car, a district parent initially intending to complain realized that Brokenbough was their son’s school bus driver, and that he had just purchased the pizza for the students out of pocket.
They thanked Brokenbough, alerted district staff and made sure his good deed didn’t go unnoticed.
Brokenbough has paid for pizza as an incentive for good grades for each of the three years he has been employed with the district. He doesn’t fuss over acknowledgement or applause, doesn’t send a flyer home for the parents or post about it on social media.
He says he likes being a quiet leader and mentor to the kids he drives and doesn’t want their hard schoolwork to go without recognition.
This year, Brokenbough, an alum of George Visual and Performing Arts School and an Oak Hills High School football star, was the eighth grade bus driver for the Adelanto Unified School District. He and fellow George School custodian Jante Thompson partnered to pay for the meal. Brokenbough says that without the kids, they wouldn’t have a job, so rewarding them is the least they can do.
“We always talk about what we would do to give back once we make it, but we don’t have to be successful to start being better,” Brokenbough told the Daily Press. He hopes to one day be fortunate enough to buy pizza for the whole school, with enough for seconds.
Kimberly Toney Smith commented on social media that Brokenbough is a prime example of what young men should aspire to be. “It has been great getting to know him as an adult, he was my student in 5th grade! He sets the example to live by.”
Misty O’Neill also commented online that she and her kids love having Brokenbough for school field trips, and that he is “always so kind and safe.”
The former athlete says the best part of the job is the end-of-the-year emotions between the students and him.
He is hard on them throughout the year, having to tell their parents about rowdy behavior on the bus, and directly encourages them to be better. He says that once the end of the year comes around, those same rowdy students well up with tears in their eyes, not sure if they will see him again come high school. They thank him for believing in their potential. He said he wouldn’t trade watching their growth for any other job.
McKenna Mobley is a reporter for the Victorville Daily Press. She can be reached at mmobley@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: From alum to mentor: Adelanto bus driver treats top students to pizza
Reporting by McKenna Mobley, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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By McKenna Mobley, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
