James and Shannon Ozuna Get Their CDLs

Congratulations to the Ozunas! California Career School would like to formally congratulate James and Shannon Ozuna on their recent achievement of obtaining their CDLs. They are one of many other husband and wife students CCS has trained. The couple took a moment of their time to share their experience with us.

As to the reasoning behind choosing to attend CCS, James conveys, ” We look at multiple schools prior to CCS and found them to be lacking the profesionalism and positive energy that CCS could provide. We definitely made the right choice!”

” I was pleasantly surprised with how much I was taught. Other schools did not offer as much training and hands on experience with the driving or truck its self. CCS really helped prepare me for what I would be facing in the industry. A much higher pass rate than other schools,” Shannon replied in response to what surprised her most about the school.

“Good professional people interested in your success,” is what James found to be the most valuable asset of California Career School. Shannon relays, “Helping students succeed!,” is what she found most valuable.

In terms of the future, the couple plans to secure a team driving position.

CRST Opens New Riverside Terminal

California Career School had the privilege of attending the ribbon cutting and opening ceremonies of the new CRST terminal in Riverside. The new terminal features dormitories, common areas for the drivers to socialize, a cafeteria open 24/7, and laundry facilities. For entertainment, the terminal features a high definition movie room with a blue ray player and access to Netflix. A separate entertainment room houses a juke box, pool tables, and an outdoor patio providing grills for cooking with transportation to nearby markets for supplies.

The tour guide emphasized the family environment created within CRST: “We want our drivers to feel like they are family, to create a home away from home, but also a place for them to invite their families to.” CRST is currently working on partnering with nearby vendors to encourage this family structure away from home; one service they hope to implement in the near future is to have neighboring cosmetologists come in to provide haircuts for the drivers and their families on a regular basis.

Visiting the terminal, we caught a glimpse of how easy it is for the drivers to meet new people daily. We were able to get to know veteran drivers who provided us with some great advice for our students just starting out in the field. Robert, a driver for 35 years, shared his perspective of the road and stated that every driver must “respect the light load, respect the wind, and respect their paperwork.” He explained that much of his success has been a result of being aware of how weather affects his driving and of having his paperwork in order to earn the respect and leniency of the DOT inspectors. Robert emphasized the idea of continuous learning for our new drivers: “You must not think that you can drive all vehicles the same. For example, when transitioning between driving a van and driving a flat bed, you must be willing to learn how to drive all over again.” A trainer for 13 years, Robert understands the value of continuous learning and wanted us to share this with our students as they embark on their employer training. He advised them to “get a good trainer who is patient.”

Spending the day at the terminal, it was visible that CRST treats their drivers like family while providing them the best experience and advice from veteran drivers that set them up for success. California Career School is proud to share our driver family with CRST.

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Interview with Mitchell Ulmer

Congratulations to Mitchell Ulmer! Mitchell was able to recently acquire his CDL at our Twentynine Palms location. He took a moment of his time to share his experience at California Career School with us.  

Why did you choose CCS? Was there an obvious advantage or anything specific that made CCS stand out in some way?

“I selected CCS because of the conduct that I had with Ward (our 29 Palms instructor) on base while in the Marine Corps on several occassions if it had not been for his effort in pursuing service members I would have not been convinced to enroll.”

Were there any challenges you were facing and what did you want your training to help you do?

“The hardest situation I had with this school was simply not finding out about it sooner. Had I found out about it sooner, I would have gotten my CDL sooner.”

Describe a moment that stands out about your training.

“The day when I learned to drive to the trailer where I needed to go thanks to Ward and Bailey.”

What words would you use to describe instructor’s teaching style?

“Perfect for Marines!”

Was there anything during your experience with CCS that was surprising or unexpected?

“The instructor’s willingness to drive success and not [accept] failure.”

What is it that we do as a school that you’ve found to be most valuable?

“Tireless dedication to students…”

What’s your overall opinion of your experience with CCS?

“Best school I have had the priviledge to attend.”

What are your plans now that you have completed your training?

“My plans are to go work for IPS.”

Is there anything that someone who is trying to choose a school should kniow about CCS?

“They have the amazing ability to be flexible with your schedule.”

Again, we would like to congratulate Mitchell on his outstanding acheivement and wish him all the best for the future!

Smog Update Classes

California Career School is proud to announce we will be holding smog update classes!

There will be 4 night session courses offered in May from 6-10pm:

  • Monday, May 20th
  • Wednesday, May 22nd
  • Monday, May 27th
  • Wednesday, May 29th

The classes are held for 16 hours total and the cost is $350. Registration date for the courses will be held on Wednesday, May 15th at 6pm.

Sign up today to secure your place!

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone Number (xxx-xxx-xxxx)

Address

City

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All American Racers Automotive Field Trip

Our automotive students embarked on a field trip to All American Racers in Santa Ana, a fabrication shop and museum housing the racing memorabilia of Dan Gurney (http://allamericanracers.com). This opportunity allowed our students to take their knowledge outside of the classroom to see another side of the automotive industry.  The museum houses a collection of race cars driven by Gurney as well as various photos and mementos from his racing career. Our students were impressed with the walls covered in photos spotlighting his career as well as the race cars and motorcycles on display.

An employee and personal friend of Gurney, George, took our students through the fabrication shop highlighting the type of work done there: framework for racing vehicles, motorcycles, and government aircraft contract work.  George shared his enthusiasm for this field and our students were able to share in his excitement during the tour while getting to experience rare elements of racing history. George stated that working at All American Racers never feels like work and encouraged our students to find an interest and passion in something. He gave some advice for our students at the end of the visit: “Do what you love, and you will never work another day in your life.”

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Pre-Smog Check

Our automotive students recently got an exciting opportunity to work on a very rare vehicle, a Ford GT.

Having previous issues meeting smog requirements, the car was brought into California Career School so that our students could work on the car and help get it ready for a smog check.

The car is unique in that it was specifically developed by Ford for Dan Gurney. A bubble top was particularly developed for Dan because of his large size. The dashboard of the car is also signed by Phil Remington and Carroll Shelby, who bulit the first Shelby Cobra vehicle.

Our automotive class was able to work on the Ford GT and get its sensors to work properly so that it could pass a smog check.

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Heath Sparks Gets His CDL

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Congratualtions to our recent graduate, Heath Sparks, on obtaining his CDL!  He took a moment of his time to share with us a little about his experience at California Career School.

“Working together to learn how to accomplish all tasks. Very impressed with knowledge of instructors…”, is what stands out most to Heath in regards to our training.

We asked Heath, what he felt was most surprising in terms of his training experience at CCS? He replied, “hands-on training.” Our instructors work quite closely with each student to make sure that they are receiving any type of support they need.

He also offered some advise to any future students. Heath shared, “Most jobs are requesting CDL drivers and this will definitely help. Ward [our 29 Palms instructor] had set up and taken us to job fairs. Deeply appreciated.”

Heath was able to meet one-on-one with Integrated Production Services at a presentation set up by Calfironia Career School, which in turn transpired into a job for him.

IPS has created a unique Marine Corps Training Program soley for recently seperated, motivated, and qualified former Marines (ALL MOS’S) interested in a career in the Oil and Gas Industry to become Drivers and Equipment Operators.

Our employers, placement coordinator, and instructors all partner together to ensure we present our students with the best employment opportunities possible. IPS in turn works with California Career School to supply positions  for our transitioning military students. Consequently, Heath was able to take advantage of this opportunity.

We would again like to congratulate Heath and wish him all the best for the future!

Michael Edrosa Shares His Training Experience

Michael Edrosa is a recent graduate of California Career School who was able to obtain his CDL. Michael took some time to shed light on his experience with us.

On why he chose to attend CCS, Michael notes, “I went to [another school] first. Let me tell you I’m so glad I made the change to go to CCS. I couldn’t have been this successful if I stayed with [the other school].”

“So much drive time which helped when it was testing time at the DMV,” is what Michael relays was most surprising about his training with the school, “…our trainer Robert gave us excellent help throughout the whole thing.”

To describe his overall opinion of California Career School, Michael says, “Awesome!”

In terms of his future plans, Michael is currently going through the final stages of gaining employment through May Trucking.

We would like to congratulate Michael on his outstanding achievement and wish him all the best in the future!

Pre-hired Before Completing

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Tremayne Dale is a recent graduate of CCS who was able to land a job at Integrated Production Services (IPS) prior to even completing his training. He took a moment to share his experience at CCS with us.  

Tremayne relayed he chose to train at California Career School because of the, “Passing rate at DMV, job placement, and overall structure of the school. Attention to detail and team concept above any school. Instructions were laid out perfectly.”

“Confidence and trust the instructors have in their students,” he shared, was what stood out to him the most during his training. On his instructor’s teaching styles, he denotes they were, “Knowledgeable, passionate, and consistent.”

Tremayne details that what he was most surprised about is the placement assistance that was offered to him. He says, “…I was just expecting to get my CDL not the assistance for job placement, which was a great added bonus!” Our placement coordinator worked closely with Tremayne to help him attain a position at IPS and go to work after completing the program.

We would like to congratulate Tremayne on getting his CDL and for getting a position at IPS. We wish him nothing but the best for the future!

Samuel Medina Gets His Truck and Bus License

CCS would like to congratulate one of its recent graduates, Samuel Medina! Samuel was able to put his determination and hard work to the test and obtain both his truck and bus licenses at our Oceanside location. He shared a bit of his training experience with us.

“I [chose] CCS,” Samuel noted, “because it worked with my work schedule to attend night classes. CCS [also] stood out because it was TA (tuition assistance) funded.”

On his instructor’s teaching styles, Samuel details that it is,”Very hands on and [they used] verbal communication when needing corrections. Being on a self paced basis.”

What Samuel values most about California Career School is that, “[They] take care of military veterans and cover night classes.” His overall opinion of the school is, “Very excellent.”

We asked Samuel if he had anything he would like to share regarding CCS with any prospective students.  Samuel replied, “They have high pass rate[s].”

Once again we would like to congratulate Samuel Medina and wish him all the best for the future!