My name is Victor, and I am a Lease-Operator here at DVL Express.
I would like to tell you about a trucker’s life from the perspectlve of an immigrant, and how dramatically this job has changed my life.
I was born and raised in the picturesque town of Kolomyia, Ukraine. I am a doctor by education and had been working in an ambulance for 3 years. When I moved to America, I planned to confirm my degree by taking some specialized American medical exams to continue being a doctor in this country. However, as it so often turns out, our plans often do not match reality.
My trucking career started at a different company, but, alot of my friends strongly recommended DVL Express for a pretty long time. Eventually, | switched to DVL Express and started working as a flatbed driver.
Things were tough in the beginning because I had only ever driven Dry Van. I have plenty of scars that remind me of the times when | was learning how te tarp loads. If not for the people supporting me, I probably would have given up a long time ago.
The employees here are a great phenomenon for me. The heads of DVL have found and united a lot of different people for one goal – driving. No matter if you are a company driver or an owner-operator, if it is day or night, if you are seriously in trouble or just need to hear a kind word to cheer up – they have always been there for me and for every driver that I know in the company.
When I switched from a company driver to a lease operator, my dispatcher was supporting me as if it was him who was doing it. It’s just something that never stops impressing me about this company. As far as I can tell, this culture and appreciation comes from the founder of DVL Express, Oleksandr Dovgal.
He was a young and bold guy when he arrived in the United States. After finding himself in trucking, he started gradually learning all aspects of this industry through trial and error. This is why he now knows better than anyone what truck drivers need.
Since then, 5 years have passed, and I am still here. I’m more professional, confident, and much more experienced than I used to be. Now when I look back on my path at DVL, I see that both the company and I have greatly evolved. Not only have they expanded quantitativaly from 30 to 300 trucks, but also qualitatively.
DVL has majorly increased their rates; developed a unique professional development program for drivers that allowed me in particular, to become a lease operator and prepare for being an owner-operator. They built a lounge zone for drivers and filled it with love and care, which makes me feel at home whenever I’m there.
For me there are so many other big things that make our workdays on the road easier and I’m just so thankful for what they do.
My financial independence allows me to take care of my education as wall, even though it’s extremely expensive in this country. I have always dreamed of starting psychology classes and my dream came true! But most important is that I am able to help my family in Ukraine which gives me a great deal of peace and confidence for the future.
At the conclusion of my story, I would like to say that you should never be afraid of the changes happening in your life. As long as you keep working hard and are surrounded by good people, your journey will be safe and pleasant.