Retired Faculty & Staff

After nearly 50 years behind the wheel of McDonogh school buses, Cecilia Ciampa is hitting the brakes. When Ceil came to McDonogh in 1975, her mother, Theresa Chenoweth, was a seasoned driver on the Eldersburg route. They worked together for some 20 years before Theresa retired. Then, Ceil took over bus #12 shuttling kids back and forth from Eldersburg, Finksburg, and Westminster to McDonogh. In the afternoons, she often made the trip twice as the late bus driver.

Back in the day when Ceil started driving for McDonogh, none of the buses had automatic transmissions. Despite this, she expertly maneuvered the vehicle up and down hills pushing in the clutch and adjusting the gears. It was a time when, at the start of each school year, drivers were given a handwritten list of the stops and from there created their own routes.

A reliable employee, Ceil is known by her colleagues for having a great work ethic and a true love of children, especially the lower schoolers. For years, the other drivers have admired her patience, but they also note she would not tolerate disrespect. A fellow driver adds, “She is as cool as a cucumber,” recalling the time her tire blew out on a trip to pick up kids from Hersheypark. 

Ceil takes as much pride in her appearance as her job and is considered one of the most “put together” drivers on the team. “Her hair and nails are always done. She always looks nice,” says a fellow female driver.

In retirement, Ceil, who enjoys the camaraderie of the other bus drivers and is always up for anything, will have more time to spend with family and to play her favorite games, Bunco and Rummikub. And while her RVing days are over, she and her husband plan to enjoy some well-deserved cruise vacations—where she will not be in charge of steering the ship.

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