High Point University students hit the road with Ms. L

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — If you ever get the chance to ride on a bus with “Ms. L” behind the wheel, people at High Point University say it’s a trip you likely won’t forget.

“She gets hype. I get hype … When I see her driving around, we’ll wave at each other,” High Point University Women’s Basketball athlete Aaliyah Collins said.

Leila Jones, best known on campus as “Ms. L,” is a driver in High Point University’s Transportation Department.

“It’s nine other men … I’m the only lady,” she said.

Jones sees her role as being more than getting people to their destinations.

“Those students are my babies, too. You get around them, and they’re there, and you just love on them, and they just become your family,” Jones said.

She brings those same protective instincts as a mother and grandmother to the workplace.

“I look at this as my house,” she said.

Jones is approaching her third school year at the university.

Passengers say Jones has an effortless ability to create a positive atmosphere.

“She is requested quite frequently from different professors on campus, different athletics teams,” HPU’s Manager of Transportation Valerie Miller said.

“You never really know the impact you leave with people. I’m just here to do my job, and it’s what I love to do,” Jones said.

The coaches and players on the women’s basketball team are some of her biggest fans.

“She means a lot. She goes above and beyond, and she’ll watch our games, too, and she’s really supportive … Couldn’t ask for a better bus driver,” Collins said.

“Every game that I go to … I always go inside … Sometimes parents can’t make it up, so I’m there,” Jones said.

Those acts of kindness have left a lasting impression.

“I’m just being myself. That’s pretty much it,” she said.

Jones has had her commercial driver’s license since 2008 and has driven across the United States and Canada. These days, she enjoys driving locally.

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