Search Results
BART Connects: With $300 in her wallet and a dream, one BART track operator forged her own path
Do you have a favorite BART memory or story to share? Email a short summary to BART Storyteller Michelle Robertson at [email protected], and she may follow up to schedule an interview.
Update: Thu is now a Track Equipment Operator!
On a recent Saturday morning, Thu Nguyen made her way to the Hayward Maintenance Complex, where a dozen workers were busy uprooting old track and laying the groundwork for a new track switch under the morning sun.
When Nguyen arrived, the workers – all men – in their bright yellow safety vests and hard hats greeted her with exclamations and smiles.
“Hi, everyone!” said Nguyen, smiling back.
Nguyen has worked at BART as a track worker for two-and-a-half years. Recently, she was promoted to track operator, meaning “I have a little more responsibility,” she said.
Nguyen’s ambitions do not stop with track operator. Once she passes her TOEFL assessment, a standardized exam that measures English proficiency, she intends to pursue a master’s degree in Transportation Management from San Jose State University. BART offers employees who pursue the degree from SJSU large financial support packages.
Nguyen’s path to track operator was not an easy one. She grew up in rural Vietnam, where she worked in the fields of her family’s farm.
“From a young age, I did a lot of physical work. I learned [from the time I was a child] to do what is happening here,” she said, gesturing at the men working around her.
In young adulthood, Nguyen received a bachelor’s degree in biology from a university in Vietnam, but she sought new pastures. She moved to Israel to learn agriculture, then to San Diego in 2016.
Moving to the U.S. was difficult for Nguyen, who struggled with family and adapting to a new culture and language. A few years after moving to San Diego, Nguyen packed up her daughter and her things and set out for Oakland. She had $300 in her wallet, no job, and no housing.
“I moved to Oakland, and from there, things changed,” she said. “I [realized I could] do a lot more than I imagined.”
Nguyen eventually connected with the Cypress Mandela Training Center, which offers free pre-apprenticeship program for Bay Area residents to BART opportunities.
Over the course of 16 weeks, Nguyen and fellow trainees learned the basic skills required for track and structure work on BART. On any given day, trainees might be putting pen to paper in the classroom or working in the open air, swinging a spike maul or learning to handle biohazards.
“Cypress Mandela not only provides opportunities for careers, but the opportunity to work on something that’s meaningful,” said Eric Shanks, Executive Director of Cypress Mandela. “BART is like a family. It’s important to have people work on these rail lines and have a sense of ownership and pride over that work.”
Upon graduating from Cypress Mandela, the trainees receive further training from BART, which provides opportunities to acquire more skills and a chance to get promoted.
Track work is hard, but fulfilling, Nguyen said. “I learn something new every day.”
Nguyen likes the “mechanical” aspects of her work – breaking things down then figuring out how to build something new in its place.
“I’m a hands-on, physical person, so it works very well for me,” she said.
Working with mostly male colleagues hasn’t been a problem for Nguyen. She said her colleagues “make me stronger” – and she likes that the men rarely “hold a grudge.” “You have to let them know you’re willing to learn and try a new thing,” she said. “I tell them I’m ready to learn. I might make mistakes, but I’ll try to get better.”
Nguyen brings a special zest to the workplace, too.
“What I give to the environment, give to the coworker, is a smile,” she said.
Nguyen’s supervisors and coworkers said she brings much more than a smile to the track. Rene Cruz, BART section manager, track maintenance, called Nguyen “one of our hardest workers.”
“She doesn’t stand around; she’s always moving, looking for stuff to do,” he said. “She doesn’t wait around for you to tell her to do something.”
Jaime Ramirez, system service foreworker, said Nguyen is “no-holds-barred.”
“She’s not afraid of the work,” he said. “She just goes for it.”
Nguyen doesn’t exactly stop working after work. In addition to taking care of her ten-year-old daughter, Nguyen volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, where her construction skills come in handy. She’s practicing her English to pass the TOEFL. She watches YouTube videos to learn how to manage her finances. And on Mondays, “I treat myself” to a long hike, she said. Sitting still is not exactly Nguyen’s M.O.
In five years, Nguyen said she hopes to have her master’s degree at San Jose State University and to continue working track. And she’ll never, ever stop learning.
“Don’t look at the challenge as the thing you must do,” she said, stringing pearls of wisdom. “Look at the challenge as an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to experience something … You need to know suffering to know happiness. You need to be challenged to appreciate your achievements. And if you don’t try it, you’ll never know what could have been.”
About BART Connects
The BART Connects storytelling series was launched in 2023 to showcase the real people who ride and rely on BART and illustrate the manifold ways the system affects their lives. The subjects of BART Connects will be featured in videos as well as a forthcoming marketing campaign that is slated to run across the Bay Area. Find all the stories at bart.gov/bartconnects.
The series grew out of BART's Role in the Region Study, which demonstrates BART’s importance to the Bay Area’s mobility, cultural diversity, environmental and economic sustainability. We conducted a call for stories to hear from our riders and understand what BART means to them. More than 300 riders responded, and a selection of respondents were interviewed for the BART Connects series.
BART Is My Ride: Lawrence
It’s a neighborhood world-renowned for its vibrant mix of art, food and history – watch this video of one BART rider’s journey to this eclectic destination and get a glimpse of what’s there for you to discover. Music by The Lee Vilensky Trio. Thanks for riding BART!
BART labor news updates
While we're doing everything possible to avoid any further work stoppages, we want our customers to have the most up to date information about BART labor negotiations and their impact on BART service. For the latest information, sign up for email and text alerts today.
BART hushes screechy rails
BART is installing custom made rail dampers to help cut the noise level at what has been one of our loudest stretches of track- between Balboa Park and Daly City. These dampers, made of steel and rubber, physically clamp onto the rail every 30 inches and help lessen the vibration that causes the well-known
Addressing Harassment on BART
BART releases Annual Report
BART has released its Annual Report for 2018. You can find it here.
Statement of BART Board President Tom Radulovich on behalf of the BART Board of Directors
The Board of Directors met in closed session tonight and has voted 7 to 1 to release the following statement: “We’ve reviewed the chronology of events concerning section 4.8 and are convinced that it was never the District’s intention to include the disputed Family Medical Leave Act proposal in the contract
Early BART Car Design
Our original train cars were designed to feel sleek and futuristic to distance themselves from other outdated trains.
BART Connects: Natasha Oon, LPGA Tour golfer and "BART Girl"
“BART connected me to my dream.”
Read more BART Connects stories at bart.gov/bartconnects.
When Natasha Oon practices at the Lake Merced Golf Club, it’s a treat to see her old pal the BART train glide by the course.
“It’s like a nice little friend or companion at my practices. I always like seeing it pass by,” said Oon, who made her highly anticipated debut on the LPGA Tour this past March.
BART has played an integral part in her journey to the LPGA, so much so that Oon’s earned the nickname “BART Girl” among friends and colleagues.
Oon moved from Malaysia to the Bay Area after earning an athletic scholarship at San Jose State University (SJSU). Far from home and living in the U.S. for the first time, Oon sought an elite coach that could train her to compete at the highest level. She settled on Erik Stone, who coached Yealimi Noh, an LPGA standout from Concord.
The issue was Stone coached out of Alameda, and Oon was in San Jose.
“I didn't really know what to do. I didn't know how to get anywhere,” she said. “I found out that to get to him, I had to take BART or it would be super expensive, and I wouldn't be able to see him as much. So BART helped me lower my costs and made it accessible for me to get top tour-level instruction. And now I'm a tour golfer on the LPGA Tour!”
Oon went on to become one of the most accomplished and decorated golfers in SJSU history.
Today, Oon’s homebase is still the Bay Area, and when she’s not touring, she still takes BART all over the place.
“I don’t like parking in the city. I don’t like driving in the city,” she said. “For me as a city girl, I take BART.”
BART, she added, is “such a celebrated thing because it helps people get so many places. And I think that’s beautiful. I have a special place in my heart for BART.”
About BART Connects
Tens of millions of people ride BART every year -- to work, dates, practice, friends, and fun. BART Connects tells their stories.
In June, BART Communications launched the second edition of BART Connects, a storytelling series that features real BART riders who span generations, neighborhoods, and walks of life. You can read their stories below.
In the coming months, the stars of BART Connects will take us for a ride in a series of video featurettes that will be regularly posted on BART social media.
You will also see the faces of BART Connects riders in advertising spaces in the BART System and across the region.
BART Connects grew out of a call for rider stories BART Communications launched in 2023 to learn how our transit system impacts people’s lives. The initial response made clear that BART means something to those who ride it.
Have a cool BART story to share? Submit a short summary at bart.gov/story. You may be the next BART Connects feature!
BART Connects: How "BART princess" Mariah romanticizes her commute
“BART girl math: I can maximize sleep by doing my makeup on the train and still sneak in a nap each way.”
Read more BART Connects stories at bart.gov/bartconnects.
Being a “BART princess” requires girl math sometimes.
Mariah commutes a long distance from North Concord/Martinez to San Francisco. But she makes the most of that time, often filming “get ready with me” videos during her rides that document her makeup routine and daily ‘fits.
“I do my makeup in less than three stops – lashes and all – before the heavier flow of riders,” she said. “This is my BART girl math: I can maximize sleep by doing my makeup on the train and still sneak in a nap each way.”
People often make a face when they hear the amount of time Mariah spends commuting. She gets it, but that’s exactly why the self-proclaimed BART princess makes the most of it.
“My BART ride is my soft launch into the day – my own version of main character energy before the city wakes up,” she said. “I don’t want to sit in traffic. I just want to vibe. BART lets me do exactly that.”
About BART Connects
Tens of millions of people ride BART every year -- to work, dates, practice, friends, and fun. BART Connects tells their stories.
In June, BART Communications launched the second edition of BART Connects, a storytelling series that features real BART riders who span generations, neighborhoods, and walks of life. You can read their stories below.
In the coming months, the stars of BART Connects will take us for a ride in a series of video featurettes that will be regularly posted on BART social media.
You will also see the faces of BART Connects riders in advertising spaces in the BART System and across the region.
BART Connects grew out of a call for rider stories BART Communications launched in 2023 to learn how our transit system impacts people’s lives. The initial response made clear that BART means something to those who ride it.
Have a cool BART story to share? Submit a short summary at bart.gov/story. You may be the next BART Connects feature!