When an intern comes into Elpis Enterprises, they’re not only looking for job experience to grow their opportunities after their internship is done. They’re also looking for other avenues to improve their livelihoods, including acquiring their driver’s license.
For a few years, Elpis has provided online courses for interns to obtain their driver’s permit and get them on the next steps to acquire their driver’s license. Ira Koskie, one of Elpis’s earn and learn interns in screen printing, is one of our latest success stories with the permit program.
“I would say I was pretty unmotivated to do that stuff before I got in the swing of working and everything,” Koskie said. “So it just helped me, pushed me to want better for myself, and so it’s easier to study because I really wanted it. I wanted it for myself.”
Koskie took advantage of the online permit classes over his lunch break for a few weeks, and quickly passed the permit test at the DMV thereafter. But with him becoming accustomed to his work schedule at Elpis and balancing out his other tasks outside of work, Koskie put off getting around to taking his license test and working on his permit hours.
After a while, Koskie didn’t want to keep putting off his permit hours or ask to borrow a friend’s vehicle to get them in. So he went out and bought his own car to accomplish his hours.
“I had this car for about a month, and I was getting a little nervous because I was trying to have my license before I move into my own place and I move out September 1. So time is kind of running out. And then me and my friend Nolan, just started practicing once a week with the parking and other stuff,” he said.
In a matter of weeks, Koskie was able to obtain all his permit hours required for the test and went to the license center near Elpis’s office to get his test done. As it is for anyone, the nerves crept up on him ahead of the test.
“I was super nervous at first before I was going to go to the test. I was prepared to fail, and then when the instructor came out, I was trying to remember all this stuff LaShay was telling me and the permit class was telling me, and my friend was telling me. I took a deep breath, did my best, and I passed.”
Now with his license acquired and a car to drive with it, Koskie is feeling more like an independent adult, not only making his commute to Elpis every day easier, but also accomplishing more of what he wants to do outside of work as well.
“It’s been amazing. I’m eternally grateful. This program in general has taught me a lot about being an adult in general and just showing up. And showing up is just one of the most important things in anything in life.”
