Looking to his right for a mirror check during those quiet moments out on the road, it would be hard for Michael Bivens not to occasionally recall being a 4-year-old boy, climbing into the jump seat of his father’s big rig.
“I remember those brown seats in that truck. I was enamored with trucking as a kid,” said Bivens of those early memories alongside his father. “Just thinking about running the roads with a big truck, hauling a load and being able to honk your horn for the kids who give you that fist pump. I thought it was the coolest thing.”
Bivens’ professional ascent, which now includes being a part of the Elite 11 for Transition Trucking’s 2026 Driving For Excellence Award, is another example of how the first-year Stevens Transport driver has honored his late father by closely following many of the same footsteps his dad took during his lifetime.
“When I was on my way home the other day, there was a kid on the side of the road who had stopped his little motorcycle,” Bivens shared. “He was giving me the fist pump. As a trucker, seeing that really lights up our day.”
Inspired by his father’s example and success
Taking a career turn into trucking was not the first time that Bivens called upon his father’s experience in life as a blueprint for his own success.
While in the Marine Corps, Bivens had the opportunity to specialize in communications. His father had gone into telecommunications and farming after his time behind the wheel as a professional driver.
During his time in the Marines, Bevins became a communications electronics technician with a primary focus of making sure all the radio equipment worked, while also training troops on how to properly use the equipment.
Over the course of his service in the Marines, Bevins’ communications work brought him into the field on deployments, including to Fallujah in Iraq. Whether deployed or stateside, Bivens continued to embrace the adapt-and-overcome approach to service that is the hallmark of the Marine Corps.
“If I hit a roadblock, it didn’t stop me. I kept right on going until I found something that actually did work,” said Bevins. “Being in the Marine Corps helped me to have more of a drive to see things through to a completion.”
Returning to civilian life and finding the road
Following 13 years of service in the Marines, Bivens decided to write a new chapter in his life as he returned to the civilian world, putting expertise he gained in the military to its best use.
His first civilian job was in a call center, where he was able to use his military telecommunications experience as he worked on basic infrastructure projects for one of the largest telecom companies in the country. Unfortunately for Bivens, the company went through a round of layoffs that left him looking for another opportunity.
Discovering a lack of telecommunications opportunities that would be a fit for his experience, Bivens once again drew inspiration from his father’s career path: memories of the times he’d spent as a child in his father’s big rig.
Recalling some of the lessons his father provided him as he initially earned his driver’s license many years before, Bivens confidently took the first steps in his transition to trucking, enrolling in the Tennessee Truck Driving School in Knoxville.
Bivens proved to be a natural behind the wheel of a big rig. His early precision on the skills course, especially when it came to backing his truck and trailer, immediately sparked both praise and curiosity from his instructors.
“They had just shown us maybe once or twice,” Bivens said of the initial lessons on backing for the class. “After I got finished with my first try at it, they came up to me and asked, ‘Are you sure you haven’t driven before? Are you pulling our leg?’
“I told them this was a first for me,” he continued. “Now, a lot of (my backing ability), I can attribute to my Dad. When I was learning how to drive, he was very adamant that I learned how to back and back appropriately. I got to where I could get in a regular four-wheeler, back it down a driveway at 15 mph and make a perfect stop.”
A memorable first year with Stevens Transport
Bivens was matched with Stevens Transport while completing his entry-level driver training at the Tennessee Truck Driving School. After earning his CDL, Bivens went out on the road with Stevens, finally living the life of a professional driver.
Though the reality of heading down the highway — and occasionally pulling the cord on the air horn — was certainly different from what he dreamed about as a 4-year-old boy in the jump seat of his father’s truck, Bivens’ first year in the trucking industry has more than exceeded his initial expectations.
“With Stevens, I have found they definitely want to make sure that, as a driver, you are taken care of to the best of their abilities,” he observed. “During my first year, I just wanted to get my reins, get my feeling for the job.
“I never would’ve thought that me being put into this competition would’ve been one of them,” he added, noting his surprise at being nominated for the Driving For Excellence Award. “For me, this has been a little overwhelming. Day in and day out, I just do my job. I don’t expect any thanks or praise from it.”
Michael Biven’s interview video appears below. Readers may also click here to view the video on YouTube or click here to hear an audio-only version.
A full-circle journey reaches a new generation
The news of his selection to the Elite 11 for the Driving For Excellence Award has been a source of pride for Bivens’ family, which has been supportive of his career shift to earn a living from behind the wheel of a big rig.
“They’re all proud of me and, like I said, it’s been overwhelming,” said Bivens, who values his time at home while also doing his best to stay connected with his wife, their five kids and a seven-year-old grandson who has a keen interest in trucking. “Being out on the road has definitely made me appreciate my home time a lot more.
“I do appreciate the time that I do get to come home,” he added. “I especially appreciate the times that I actually get to wrap my arms around my wife and my children.”
One of the highlights of Bivens’ home time in his first year has been welcoming his grandson aboard his truck. Just a couple of years older than Bivens was when first sat in the jump seat of his father’s truck, his grandson appears to hold the same passion that inspired a dream that has now become a reality.
“He’s enamored with everything, inside the truck and out,” said Bivens of his grandson’s visits that easily bring back his own childhood memories. “Any time I’m home, he climbs up in the truck. It’s great to see.”
When asked if he sees his grandson following in his footsteps and going from the kid in the jump seat to behind the wheel as a professional driver, Bivens is realistic about what the future may hold for his grandson.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see how the cards play out.”
Greg Thompson is an award-winning writer and producer who has worked in the trucking industry in a variety of roles since 1998. With more than a decade’s worth of experience as a journalist prior entering trucking, Greg is the founder and executive producer of PodWheels.com, a podcast network dedicated to spotlighting the trucking industry.
Since 2019, PodWheels has provided specialized coverage of the National Truck Driving and National Step Van Driving Championships. Over its history, the NTDC Podcast Series has provided more than 150 hours of podcast content highlighting the competitors, organizers and volunteers involved with the Truck Driving Championships at both the state and national levels. The NTDC program, which is hosted annually by the American Trucking Associations, has a history that dates back to 1937.
Beginning in 2025, PodWheels was chosen by the ATA to serve as the Official Podcaster for the NTDC. PodWheels’ coverage of the NTDC, including state competitions and other features, is available through RoadToNTDC.com.
