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Ares CDL Institute in Kansas City, Kansas, makes a point to provide opportunities for its students beyond simply helping them obtain a commercial driver's license.
Harold Fears co-founded Ares CDL Institute a year ago, with a goal.
“We built this intentionally to [act] as a support system for young men and women. It's a family," Fears said.
The Wyandotte County location is not lost on him — it was intentional.
“Wyandotte County is one of the poorest counties in the country,” Fears said. “It’s important to elevate our community financially.”
Fears said people can expect to make $50,000 to $70,000 in their first year of driving, which is supported by data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Additionally, Fears said he monitors national truck driver shortage numbers daily, which hover just below 60,000 drivers this year.
The institute welcomed its first full class of students in November 2024. Before that, eight students had graduated training by themselves from the six-week, Monday-Friday program, which includes a week of online modules and five weeks of driving training.
Fears said Ares also offers an apprenticeship program and the opportunity for students to begin working for their trucking companies the day after graduation.
From there, students test at the Department of Motor Vehicles on an obstacle course to obtain their CDL.
But Fears said the work at Ares goes above and beyond this assessment.
“That’s what differs between regular schools. They teach you how to pass a test," he said.
Fears said the institute prides itself on having a well-rounded approach with wraparound services like providing meals, transportation and support from local organizations like Catholic Charities or The Village Initiative, Inc. for other needs students might have.
The school is also open to students with a record, like Charles Jones, who was in prison in Lansing for 42 years.
Real life and trucking school have been his two classrooms. Now, he has a new objective.
“Trying to make a life for myself,” Jones said.
He’s not alone.
“It is hard coming out of jail, being able to find work,” said Marc Powell, another student at Ares.
He said he knew he needed to re-route his life in order to see a change.
“What I was doing wasn’t getting me to where I was trying to get to,” Powell said. “I just had to change surroundings, period.”
Now, his surroundings consist of an obstacle course.
“It’s got dips and bumps in it,” Fears said. “Because those dips and bumps are what you’re going to see out there in the real world.”
There are lessons inside, too.
“Everything in this room has a powerful statement to it,” said Phillip True Jr., a historian, artist and businessman who assists Fears and his staff at Ares.
True gives the students life advice, but his artwork also hangs throughout the institute.
He said his priority is for students to think beyond where they are in school and learn their purpose in life.
“This is a stepping stone to a much bigger possibility in your life,” True said. “What are you going to do beyond driving a truck, and how are you going to handle some of those situations that you may encounter?”
Beyond his artwork and words of affirmation, students see representation frequently.
“The fact that it’s basically Black-owned, that was a big one that stood out to me,” said Amel Jenkins, a student at Ares.
One six-week course — which he’s still enrolled in — has turned Jenkins from student to teacher.
“You gotta be confident in all the moves that you make,” Jenkins said. “The hardest part is not second-guessing yourself.”
He and the other students have learned the primary lesson: one wrong turn doesn’t define your journey.
“[This is] probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Jones said.
To learn more about Ares and enroll in a course, click here.
