Every day on FGCU\u2019s campus, students board shuttles heading to and from classes, residence halls and parking lots. Behind the wheel are the drivers who make these short rides possible. Steve Roop is one of these drivers who has built himself a driving career around consistency, personality and connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roop has been driving FGCU campus shuttles for 12 years and is known for always wearing his Miami Dolphins hat. Before landing where he is now, he spent four decades mainly as a mechanic, working primarily in car dealerships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to be a commercial artist, but commercial art was pretty much gone, so I went to my second love, and that was mechanics,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, Roop left home at 22 years old to move to Miami, where he spent most of his adult life. He was drawn there by the ocean and the surf, calling it \u201cone of the best decisions he ever made.\u201d In recent years, arthritis forced him out of the water, and he has not surfed in about five years.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI had both hips replaced on Christmas break a year ago, and that pretty much took me out of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Even so, surfing remains a defining part of his life and one of the passions that shaped his adventurous spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roop once worked as a photojournalist for Rag Magazine, a publication that covered local music scenes across South Florida. Through that work, he met countless musicians, writers and artists. He also developed a passion for storytelling through images, something that remains with him today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Music is yet another passion that has always been a central part of Roop\u2019s life. He started playing guitar in sixth grade, performing anywhere he could, from campfires to parties. His talent even led him to the Country Music Hall of Fame, where he recently had the chance to perform.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI play a little bit of everything,\u201d he said. \u201cMy go-to is 12-bar blues, but I enjoy Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, and some country, like Charlie Daniels and Blake Shelton.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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For Roop, music is not just a hobby, but a way to connect with people and express himself beyond the everyday routine of driving buses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After leaving Miami, Roop settled in Naples and began working with Dolphin Transportation, where he eventually became one of the longest-serving campus shuttle drivers at FGCU. On a busy day, Roop can transport more than a thousand riders, moving constantly between stops.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this job,\u201d Roop said. \u201cI\u2019m retired, I get summer months off, a month at Christmas, and I get to socialize with all you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the best part of the job is meeting new students each semester, hearing about their experiences, seeing familiar faces and knowing that students rely on the shuttle system to make their days easier. Roop tries his best to remember students who ride frequently and views the campus community as an extension of family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just try to make people feel comfortable, try to learn their names, put a smile on their face.\u201d Roop said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Freshman Sieana Del Castillo sees and appreciates Roop\u2019s effort to get to know the students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that he takes the time to try to get to know the students that he\u2019s driving around,\u201d she said. \u201cHe waves to me even when I\u2019m not going on the bus and I\u2019m just walking, he waves to me and he is just one of the sweetest people ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roop often talks about his appreciation for the simple things in life and said that attitude helps him stay positive through long days on the road. He is grateful for the experiences life has given him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the day comes that I go, I\u2019ve told my daughters to tell people to not feel sorry for the guy, because he lived his life to the fullest,\u201d Roop said. \u201cI\u2019ve done just about anything and everything you can think of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every day on FGCU\u2019s campus, students board shuttles heading to and from classes, residence halls and parking lots.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":{"0":"post-126667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cape-coral","8":"tag-cape-coral","9":"tag-cape-coral-headlines","10":"tag-cape-coral-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}