Driving Leetal to Her Future

“Having a public transportation system really connects the community and gives people opportunities that they might not necessarily have otherwise.”

Leetal Cohn, a senior in Drake University’s School of Education, credits having access to DART as key to her success as a student. She moved to Des Moines for college three years ago from her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, unfamiliar with this new city and new surroundings. Since Leetal doesn’t have a car on campus, she rides DART regularly to balance her classes, a job at The Harkin Institute and everyday errands like grocery shopping.  

She found DART to be most valuable, however, while completing 80 hours of required field experience necessary for becoming a teacher in Iowa. Assigned to schools across Des Moines her freshman and junior years, Leetal relied on riding the bus to get from campus to this important hands-on training, a critical step for both her future and the region’s future as demand for teachers grows.

“I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to make my way almost to the end of my education degree, and I don’t know if that would have been possible without DART,” she says.

Leetal’s use of DART is among the nearly 12,000 trips delivered on a typical weekday. Most of those trips help people across Greater Des Moines, like Leetal, get to work, shopping or school. Many Drake students use DART, because of the university's Unlimited Access partnership that offers free bus passes to students and faculty. 

Meet Leetal Cohn

Leetal studies history and secondary education at Drake University. She remembers wanting to be a teacher at an early age but says her history classes in high school and college solidified her decision. After finishing her field experience in Des Moines Public Schools’ classrooms, she felt confident in her pursuit of a career in education: “I really realized this was what I wanted to do with my life and help make an impact on future generations.”  

Reaching the 80 required hours of field experience while juggling her coursework was challenging, though. Some of her education classes were scheduled in the morning and others were in the afternoon, leaving her no other choice than to do a few hours of in-school training at a time—often in the middle of a school day. Her assigned schools were too far to walk, and catching a ride with a friend or an Uber driver wasn’t a reliable option. Riding DART was the answer to managing her complicated schedule. 

Fellow Drake education students in similar scenarios even joined her for a trip on the bus occasionally. “It’s super convenient and helpful,” Leetal says.  

A Voice for Others 

“If a person has a disability, if they are like me as a college student, if they are a high schooler and can’t drive yet and their parents need to go to work… there are just so many different reasons that people would use public transportation.”

When Leetal saw that DART could face possible service cuts in late 2023, she decided to speak up and be a voice for others who relied on the bus, knowing her situation isn’t unique. Without DART Local Routes 3 or 60, Leetal says she might not be able to keep her job or make it to Des Moines schools for her coursework.  

“That’s how I cover my groceries and my rent,” she says. “It’s super important that I have that income.”             

Leetal says she always sees people from different backgrounds, experiences and areas of town using DART. Some have a disability and aren’t able to drive. Parents use the bus to get their kids from place to place. And on the rare days when she stayed at her assigned school through afternoon dismissal, Leetal recalls riding the bus home alongside her students.

“Seeing how widely used it is was really eye-opening…seeing how necessary public transportation is for allowing people to really reach their full potential with what they want to do with their life.”

 

DART's Vital Role

As Leetal prepares for her final semesters at Drake University, she looks forward to student teaching and starting her career as an educator.  

“My hope is that, if the stars align and things work out,” she says. “I’ll be able to teach in Des Moines post-grad.” 

Before landing her first job, Leetal says she will likely rely on DART to get to her assigned school for student teaching because most DMPS buildings aren’t within a reasonable walking distance of Drake’s campus. That student teaching experience is a critical part of her preparation for becoming a teacher in Des Moines, a city she has grown more at home in thanks to the ease of using public transportation.

“I think that DART, as a whole, is a really valuable tool to connect people. Everyone who works for DART wants to support you,” Leetal says. “[Riding the bus] can be a little bit intimidating, but it really does have that support system there to make sure that you can get where you need to go and do it all safely.” 

Share your DART story with us! We'd love to hear how DART connects you to work, school or other places across Greater Des Moines.