Feel Good Friday: SKYCTC Nursing student receives reliable ride

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) — A Bowling Green nursing student received a refurbished vehicle Thursday through the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides program, giving her reliable transportation for work, classes and clinical assignments after repeated problems with her previous car.

Camryn Holder said her old vehicle did not always start, leaked when it rained and could leave her waiting for help during hot summer days. The transportation problems added another layer of stress to an already demanding nursing program.

A conversation leads to an unexpected opportunity

Holder’s path to a new vehicle began with a conversation with Judith Scott, a TRIO Services associate at SKYCTC.

Scott said Holder came into her office and mentioned the problems with her car without asking anyone else to solve them.

“She wasn’t complaining. She never complains. But she just said, ‘I have this car problem. I need to figure out how to fix it,’” Scott said.

Only a short time later, Scott received an email seeking nominations for someone who could be eligible for the Recycled Rides program.

“I sent it to her and I said, ‘Do you think you would qualify for this?’ And she said, ‘I think I will.’ So we got together and we nominated her and she won the car,” Scott said.

Scott described the timing as “fate,” joking that it was also a lesson to read emails that may initially look like junk because “sometimes there’s something good inside.”

A surprise becomes reality

Holder said she had trouble believing the news when she learned she had been selected.

“I remember I was at my apartment with my friends studying for an exam, of course, and I got that email and I was like, there’s no way,” Holder said.

Seeing the refurbished vehicle in person made the moment even more surreal.

“I’m feeling like this is so crazy, and I’m going to keep it forever. Truly, the experience of a lifetime,” Holder said.

Companies work together to provide the vehicle

The donation brought several organizations together through the National Auto Body Council’s Recycled Rides program.

Allstate provided the vehicle, Gerber Collision and Glass refurbished it, and Pinnacle Financial Partners supported the effort. Pinnacle representatives described the project as a partnership with the National Auto Body Council, Gerber and Allstate to provide a vehicle to Holder.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has also committed to continuing its involvement with the National Auto Body Council’s program.

Reliable transportation removes a major barrier

For Holder, the vehicle is not simply a convenience.

She said her previous car could stop starting after she made trips during hot weather, sometimes forcing her to wait until it would start again. She also said its sunroof leaked into the driver’s seat.

Those problems could interfere with a schedule that already requires her to be in several places throughout the day.

“Especially being in a nursing program, they have so many things for you to do right when they need you to do it,” Holder said. “And it’s just like I’m being stopped because my car won’t start and I’m sitting in the hot summer heat waiting for my dad to come help me because he’s a mechanic and he’s busy.”

Scott said nursing students can sometimes travel as far as 70 miles for practical assignments, and missing one is not something a student can simply make up.

“Having this car that she knows that will get her there will take so much stress off of her,” Scott said. “I think really the car was her biggest barrier because she very much has the intellect and, the personality and the knowledge to get herself through the program.”

Looking ahead

Holder said the vehicle will help her get to and from work while she continues her education.

“So this car will help me get to and from work. In the meantime, hopefully become a pediatric nurse,” Holder said.

For Holder, the biggest difference may be knowing the vehicle she depends on will start when she needs it. She said reliable transportation will bring relief when traveling to clinicals and remove one of the outside struggles that can make school more difficult.