BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — One special woman from Richland Two is riding a wave of appreciation after winning a big accolade from the district this summer.
Sharon Chisolm won bus driver of the year for 2021 - 2022, and now with school starting up again she is back on bus duty.
"These are kids that sometimes I have to be a parent to or a doctor or nurse or whatever, but I love what I do. I do it because I have the heart and the compassion for the kids and when others can't reach them, most times I can," Sharon Chisolm said.
Friends and coworkers say Sharon never met a stranger.
"Sharon keeps you laughing, keeps you laughing," Denise Adams, Sharon's co-worker said.
"It's never a dull moment, as I stated she is a ball of joy," Benjamin Griffin, bus routing specialist said.
"Always attention to detail. The kids seem to really like Ms. Chisolm as well and just a motherly influence and I know the kids feel safe and she does an excellent job," said Cedric Jones, Blythewood Middle School seventh grade assistant principal.
For the last eight years, Sharon has been behind this wheel, bringing smiles and support.
"Because I have a small child and his father had passed when he was three and so I asked God to give me a job to where I can always be there for him, be that parent to always support him in everything that he did," Chisolm said.
Starting and ending the day with her is what many students look forward to in Richland Two.