GTCC Truck Driver Training program put Anna Long on the road to career and financial success

“I literally was in debt when I started at GTCC and in four years I have bought a house, two vehicles, have a really healthy 401k and I have credit now,” Long said. “I think that’s very important for people to know about trucking."

Growing up in Chatham County, North Carolina, Anna Long was one of seven siblings, who had all attended four-year colleges and earned degrees. At the time, Guilford Technical Community College wasn’t even a blip on her radar.

Instead, after being accepted at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, Long headed west for college. However, she discovered this wasn’t the right direction for her.

“I went to UNC Asheville for two years and was studying anthropology, but it wasn’t the environment for me,” said Long. “After that I started working on a vegetable farm in Fairview, North Carolina, and worked there for two years. During this time, I realized that I’m a hands-on person and I was still discovering myself. When I started farming, I was much happier working with my hands and producing things and not being in a book.”

With the knowledge she obtained working in farming, learning to drive tractors, Long joined a traveling musical festival, The Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance.

“In 2012, I was living between Finger Lakes, New York and Chatham County while on the road working for a music festival,” she said. “I drove pick-up trucks with trailers up and down the east coast for the festival, setting up tents and much more at each show. That’s when I learned to back a trailer.”

Looking to plant some steady roots, Long headed back to farming and continued to explore other opportunities.

“After the festival, I moved full-time to upstate New York and did more farming while I was still in my 20s. I also got my class B license and did school bus driving which I really loved.”

However, like many, when the pandemic hit, Long really struggled with cementing her next career steps.

“During COVID in 2020, I moved back to North Carolina,” she said. “I had a moment in my life where I needed to figure some things out and needed to make some money.”

With her experience operating tractors, large trucks, and school buses, a caring sibling suggested she check out the eight-week GTCC truck driver training program.

Long began at GTCC in August of 2021.

“I had no idea what to expect. I showed up to the school, and everyone was so nice,” she recalled. “There were three women in my class of 21. It was just the most incredible experience.”

While in the program, Long learned more about the trucking industry and the options and opportunities she could be offered after earning her commercial driver’s license (CDL) class B with a passenger (P) endorsement.

“Before the program, I thought all drivers drove long hauls, but Van (Staley) (GTCC director of CDL driver training program) told me about LTL routes (less-than-truckload), which means you deliver regionally and are back home each night.”

That’s also when Staley suggested a trucking company he thought she’d be the perfect fit for: Old Dominion Freight Line.

“At 30, I finished the GTCC truck driver training program in October 2021. I had my heart set on Old Dominion Freight Line, thanks to Van,” she exclaimed. “I was trying to figure out what was next and so I came to stay with my twin sister that lives in West Chester, New York.”

In 2022, Long fulfilled her career dream by being hired full-time at Old Dominion Freight Line in Middletown, New York.

“I got hired as a combo position, which means that I can also work the dock,” she said.

Now driving full-time, her loads consist of carrying palettes of a variety of items, like textbooks, parts, or even furniture within the Hudson Valley of New York. “That’s one of the things that comes from my anthropology background is realizing what I’m hauling is an anthropological experience.  I find it fascinating!”

As she continues to grow within her new career, in 2025, she represented Old Dominion Freight Line in the national trucking driver competition (TDC).

“The TDC competition includes a driving test, written test, and an inspection. Part of the challenge is you don’t know what equipment you will be driving. I didn’t win but did really well and was one of only three women out of 100 drivers. It was held in Syracuse, and the winners of each state meet for a championship. It was super fun!”

Now, as she continues to personally thrive as a full-time truck driver, her finances have also been bolstered.

“I literally was in debt when I started at GTCC and in four years I have bought a house, two vehicles, have a really healthy 401k and I have credit now,” Long said. “I think that’s very important for people to know about trucking.

“My third year working I was making six figures. There is not another career I could do and earn that much after an eight-week program.”

She credits her career and financial growth to her fellow GTCC students, instructors and the college’s truck driving program.

“I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the program and the people at GTCC,” said Long. “I was really nervous at first, but we bonded as a group, and the instructors were so patient and encouraging. I felt nothing but support and they even let me be in a leadership position at some times as well. I had good experience backing trailers from the time on the farm and the festival circuit and was able to share that with my classmates.”

Long recalls a conversation with Staley on why he chose to get off the road to lead the GTCC truck driver training program. “Van told me ‘It changes family trees’ and it literally can. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

For more information on the GTCC Truck Driver Training program, gtcc.edu/academics/academic-programs/programs/workforce-development-corporate-training/occupational-training/commercial-drivers-license-training.php