Real Students with Trucking Careers. Hear it from Our Graduates.
Choosing a CDL school is a serious decision. It takes time, money, and commitment. People deserve to know what they are signing up for before they ever set foot on campus.
That is why the voices on this page belong to graduates, not to Southwest Truck Driver Training. These are men and women who showed up, put in the work, and came out the other side with a CDL and a career to go with it. Their words speak for themselves.
What Our Graduates Are Saying
Southwest Graduate Stories
Some graduates have careers that started behind-the-wheel and took them somewhere unexpected. A CDL opens doors that most people don’t see coming. These are a few of those stories.
Tasha: A Mother, a Graduate, and a Career She Earned
Tasha came to Southwest Truck Driver Training looking for something better. She was directed to other schools first but something kept brining her back to SWTDT. She trusted her instincts and enrolled.
Her recruiter, James made the process comfortable from the start. Her classroom instructor, Jeff, pushed her to absorb everything. Once on the training range, instructor Roberta helped her apply what she learned to the actual truck. A big rig wrapped in military colors that was intimidating at first glance, but not for long.
Tasha graduated on Mother’s Day. She is a mother of two, and that timing meant everything. She left with more than a Class A CDL. She left with a community.
I call them my family because they made me feel like I was a part of them. Their support through it all was very loving.
Tasha’s advice to future students: pay attention, stay humble, and ask for help when you need it. The school is there for you.
Dylan: From Driver to Safety Specialist
Trucking runs in Dylan’s family. His grandfather drove for years, and Dylan spent enough time in the cab as a kid to fall in love with the industry. His uncle, also a Southwest Truck Driver Training graduate, pointed him toward the school.
Dylan earned his CDL and took a driving job with Werner. He was good at it. But the time away from home added up, and he decided to look for something that kept him closer to his family.
He did not leave trucking. He moved within it.
Dylan transitioned through a shuttle driver role, then a driver support position, and eventually landed as a safety specialist, where he works today. His years on the road made him a stronger candidate for that job. He understands drivers because he was one.
“Study, study, study. The program is packed, and the knowledge sticks when you put in the effort.”
Narmin Hanna: From Graduate to Werner’s Safety Department
Narmin graduated from Southwest Truck Driver Training in 2023 and started her career driving for Werner Enterprises. Within a year, she was promoted to Werner’s Safety Department.
Her path shows that a CDL is often just the beginning. The careers graduates build with their training are limited only by how far they want to go.
Nicole — From Hairstylist to Fleet Specialist at Werner
Nicole did not grow up dreaming of a trucking career. She was a hairstylist before her cousin encouraged her to consider CDL training. She enrolled at Southwest Truck Driver Training, earned her Class A CDL, and took a driving job with Werner.
She loved the road. Over-the-road driving gave her a way to travel without the cost. But Nicole is a single mother of three, including an infant. The time away became too much. So she made a change.
She transitioned off the road and into a fleet assignment role at Werner, where she has worked for about five years now. Her job today is pairing drivers with vehicles and keeping operations running smoothly.
“I have three children, and I was out there working. Single parent, mom, you guys can do it too. Give it an opportunity. You might like it.”
Her advice to students still in training: study, ask questions, and never hesitate to request more time on the range. “They are going to assist you with that.”
More from Phoenix Graduates
More from Tucson Graduates
A School Where Students Come First
Southwest Truck Driver Training posts its philosophy on every campus. It is not a slogan. It is how the school runs every single day.
“Our student is the most important person on the campus. Not a cold enrollment statistic, but a flesh and blood human being with thoughts and emotions like our own. Not someone to be tolerated so that we can do our thing. You are our thing.”
When Southwest employees are asked what makes this school different, the answer is always the same:
“The people and the environment.”
That answer shows up in every review on this page. Students feel it from the first phone call. They remember it long after graduation.
See More Graduate Stories
Nicole’s Path After Earning a CDL
From hairstylist to fleet specialist at Werner — how Nicole built a career, and family life, around her CDL.
Dylan’s Journey After CDL School
From driver to safety specialist — Dylan's story of building a long-term career in the trucking industry.
View All Graduate Stories
Explore every graduate story, career update, and industry resource on the Southwest Truck Driver Training blog.