By Dave Dein – March 20, 2026
As educators and instructors in the trucking industry, we often measure success by pass rates and pre-trip inspections. But the true intrinsic reward — the reason we show up to the classroom and the range — isn’t found in a manual. It’s found in the transformation of a student into a peer.
There is no better example of this than David Kastiro.
David’s journey at Patterson High School began amidst the chaos of a global pandemic and significant personal financial hardship. Life took him as far as Texas, but the pull of his goals brought him back to California with little more than a few dollars and an unshakable drive.