Great Faces: Inside the Bus Project

As a kid, did you ever feel that your daily ride on the school bus took forever? Or were you a student who was content to keep riding? —The route was never long enough. Now imagine if you, as an adult, were to live on a school bus! That’s a thought that could prompt any number of reactions. But whether you enjoyed school rides or not, the school buses that spent months parked behind Talent Maker City are more than just your average bus. Through the work of students and volunteers, old school buses are becoming cozy homes-on-wheels. This bus conversion project not only addresses the housing need in Southern Oregon, but also provides opportunities for students to gain real experience in the construction trades and STEM careers. According to Talent Maker City’s Alli French, students who didn’t know anything about STEM are able to get hands-on experience in possible careers—and see that math and engineering can be fun!

The Bus Project came about with the intention of partnering the construction industry in the community with local students—who will hopefully go into such trades in the future. Talent Maker City (TMC) is responsible for developing the students’ construction curriculum, working alongside the planning skills of Justin Eager, South Medford High School’s CTE (Career and Technical Education) Department Lead for Construction Technology, and Piper Tamler, a builde r at TMC who taught a majority of the bus project program this past year. Partners such as SOESD (Southern Oregon Education Service District), RWP (Rogue Workforce Partnership), Project Youth, the Skoolies Home Foundation, and more, are working alongside the Bus Project, adding support for rural students, low-income families, students of color, and female students in construction. TMC’s website states that “the project will culminate in the student interns seeing the impact of their hard work by providing temporary or transitional housing to a family that was displaced by the 2020 Southern Oregon wildfires.” What an exciting time to be a construction student! Since many of the students have friends or family members who lost homes in the fires, the bus project is a satisfying way to give back to their own community (while learning advanced skills).

Even more advanced, is the hope that one day some of the buses can be converted into more than just houses—but mobile medical clinics! Not only would these clinics be ready to roll up to underserved neighborhoods, but students would also gain a new exposure to the healthcare industry.

Though the Bus Project is centered on students, Talent Maker City and its partners invite anyone with time and skills to volunteer their efforts. In this last year alone, over fifteen adults in STEM careers taught students classes or worked alongside them. “Giving the students opportunities to participate in problem solving—and to watch it modeled by the adults—was so instrumental,” said French. And if you’re an interested community member, but time is not a luxury, the Bus Project happily accepts Southern Oregon’s generous donations. Without materials and time given from companies like Timber Products, Completely Floored, Alternative Energy Systems, and Quantum Innovations—among others—the Bus Project would not have been able to make the progress it did.

And what’s the progress currently? After spending time with Talent Maker City, the Armadillo Technical Institute, and Phoenix High School students, the first bus is at the ninety-percent mark, being finished by South Medford High School construction classes. Once completed, SOESD partners will share the applications for potential recipients and then make a final decision on ‘who gets the bus?’

Since 2021 was the trial year for the project, French anticipates it will go much more smoothly in the years to come. TMC also plans to make their curriculum widely shareable, in the hopes that other organizations across the country (or even beyond the country), can copy the program and transform their old buses into comfortable—and lovingly-made—mobile homes.

Strategy 3.4. Support expanded technical education and higher education programming, especially for in-demand fields, such as healthcare, high tech, and engineering.

Strategy 3.5. Build greater awareness of career opportunities in the region, especially middle skill positions, and in underserved and rural communities.